


The Haunting of the Arrivederci

by LuckyLadybug



Category: Riptide (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Ghosts, May/December Relationship, Mystery, Private Investigators, Smuggling, Supernatural Elements, Voodoo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-19
Updated: 2016-04-26
Packaged: 2018-03-31 05:47:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3966700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuckyLadybug/pseuds/LuckyLadybug
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When another of Angelo Guirilini's expeditions goes haywire, the Riptide detectives are on the case. While there are definitely humans involved, Murray suspects ghosts are present as well and tries to capture evidence of their existence. Meanwhile, Cody wonders whether Nick's idea of Giovanna and Captain Scofield becoming romantically interested in each other is so farfetched.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The characters are not mine and the story is! This involves characters from the episodes Arrivederci, Baby and The Pirate and the Princess. There are some very slight references to a story I did called Apologies, but that shouldn’t have to be read to understand this.

It started out as a peaceful Caribbean evening aboard the good ship _Arrivederci, Baby_. Angelo Guirilini’s latest expedition had gone well in the daytime, but as nighttime fell, an air of tension began to settle over the voyage. It wasn’t entirely unexpected when a crewmember breathed a horrified oath and an unnatural fog began to gather in the night air and engulf the _Arrivederci_ in its misty embrace.

On deck, Giovanna Guirilini gripped the cold metal railing in mounting anger. “I don’t believe this! It’s happening again!” she burst out in utter indignation.

“Why not believe it?” a gravelly British voice retorted from the top of the stairs leading below deck. “It’s been happening every night for a week now.”

“And we’ve been losing more crewmembers every day following!” Giovanna fumed. “Captain Scofield, you’ve lived among these people for many years. That’s why my father thought you would be helpful. Don’t you have any idea what could be going on?!”

Captain Jack Scofield, a retired freighter captain and Angelo’s partner on the current oceanography expedition, emerged onto the deck and crossed to the railing. “Well, if we’re to believe the natives, either the ship or this part of the ocean is cursed,” he said, highly sarcastically. “Now, I’ve seen some unexplainable things in my time, but this looks more like another attempt to turn one of your father’s expeditions completely upside-down.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of, but why?!” Giovanna ranted.

“That’s what we seem to be at a standstill about, don’t it.” Scofield watched as a dark shape began to materialize out of the fog—a shape that heavily resembled a Venetian gondola. As the mysterious gondolier took his boat through the fog, he began to sing a mournful and eerie song in Italian.

Giovanna stared at the sight. “This is different,” she breathed, hypnotized by the chilling lyrics.

“What’s he singing?” Scofield frowned, wishing for not the first time that he was more fluent in Italian.

“He sings that the dead will never rest until the Guirilini family has paid the price for our crimes,” Giovanna said in disbelief. “And that anyone who befriends us or otherwise helps us on this expedition is likewise doomed.”

“Well, I guess that means the rest of the crew will be gone by morning,” Scofield remarked.

“Morning! If they are hearing this, they’ll be gone within the hour!” Giovanna cried. She ran to the bow of the ship, closer to the unearthly gondolier. “Who are you?! What do you want?! We haven’t done anything to justify your threats against us!”

Scofield rushed after her. “What are you doing, Miss Guirilini?! That bloke means business, whoever he is!”

“Well, so do I!” Giovanna snarled. “This doesn’t make sense and I’m furious! How dare they say such things and make us out to be such criminals!”

“Look out!” Suddenly Scofield was wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her to the side, even as she yelled in shock and disbelief. At the same moment, the gondolier lifted his oar and launched it at the deck. It was in actuality a spear. It clattered to the deck, dripping wet, barely missing Giovanna’s stomach.

She stood staring at it, breathing heavily, her hands still gripping Scofield’s arms from where she had been about to pull free of his protective embrace. Slowly she let her hands drop. “You saved my life, Captain Scofield,” she said quietly. “Thank you.”

He released her, moving forward to pick up the spear. “I’m not in the habit of letting innocent people get killed in front of me. What the . . .”

As he reached for the weapon, it vanished, only leaving behind the water on the deck. On the surface of the ocean, the gondola had disappeared as well, melting as it were into the wisps of the fog. Once it was gone, the mist began to dissipate into the chill night air.

“It’s gone,” Giovanna said in disbelief, referring more to the spear than the gondola. The gondola vanished in the same manner every night, but the spear was something new. The water on deck proved it had been there. The fact that it wasn’t chilled her more than the disappearing gondola and gondolier did at the moment.

Scofield scowled. “Now how do you like that?” He touched the pool of water with the tip of his finger. It was definitely real.

“I don’t like it at all!” Giovanna exclaimed. “What’s going on?! How is this possible?”

“Right now, I honestly don’t have an answer for you,” Scofield replied, pushing up his cap. “Even with my knowledge of the native legends.”

They both jumped a mile at the sound of another voice.

“What is going on?!” Angelo Guirilini cried as he ran out on deck. “The first mate said it was happening again! Was he right? Did it happen?”

Giovanna went to him, hoping she wasn’t shaking as much outwardly as she was sure she was on the inside. “Si, Papa, and it was different than before. This time the strange man sang as he passed by. He threatened us and everyone who helps us with destruction if we don’t pay for some sort of crimes we committed!” She hated to even tell that to her excitable father, but she knew he needed to know. If something was coming after them, they should all know as much about its intentions as possible.

_“WHAT?!”_ Angelo screamed.

“And he tried to lob a spear at your daughter,” Scofield put in as he straightened up. “But it winked away when it hit the deck, so I don’t know what was up with that.”

“This is outrageous!” Angelo roared. “We haven’t committed any kind of crime! Certainly nothing to warrant such a heartless attack! I am going to contact the local authorities this instant!”

“And report what, Papa?” Giovanna retorted. “That the fog came in and the mysterious gondola and gondolier came back and started threatening us in song? We don’t even have the spear to prove that I was attacked!”

“If not for this water, I’d say it must’ve been a hologram,” Scofield grunted. “Or a ghost spear.”

“Papa, you know half the local authorities have been laughing at our problems anyway,” Giovanna said. “The other half thinks we’re cursed! What good would it do to report another incident?”

“So what can we do?!” Angelo wailed. “I will not stand by and do nothing while my family is being threatened!”

“We need help from someone who deals with mysteries a lot,” Giovanna said. “Maybe, if we call Murray and his friends . . .”

“But you said they also threatened anyone who stands with us!” Angelo exclaimed. “Giovanna, how can I ask our friends to come knowing that they have already been marked for death?”

“We would explain everything to them and leave it up to them if they would still want to come regardless,” Giovanna said. “Papa, we need help! We can’t solve something like this all by ourselves!”

Angelo began to nervously pace. He knew Giovanna was right, but he still hated to do it. “Capitan Scofield, your life has been threatened too,” he realized.

Scofield folded his arms. “Now, you know we’ve been getting somewhere with this expedition, Captain Guilirini,” he said, and Giovanna closed her eyes and winced at the mispronunciation of the family name. Sometimes he managed to say it correctly several times in a row and she would think he finally had it down, and then without warning he would become tongue-tied and say it wrong again. After all this time, Giovanna had pretty much given up on it ever ceasing to happen entirely.

Angelo ignored it, as he always did. Scofield wasn’t Italian and Angelo was willing to cut him a good bit of slack on the matter, especially since most of the time he honestly didn’t realize when he was doing it. “Yes, I know we have,” he said instead. “But our success isn’t worth your life.”

“Oh, old Jack’s tougher than he looks,” Scofield smirked. “Don’t worry about me, Captain Guirilini. I’m in it for the long haul.”

Giovanna looked back to her father. “Papa, the detectives?”

Angelo let out a big sigh. “Alright, alright! We’ll contact them. But I still don’t like it!”

“It’s the best solution, Papa. Really, it is.” Giovanna turned to go into the radio room. “I’m going to radio the _Riptide_ right now. Perhaps if we get the papers ready and if they can leave right away, they can be here in the morning.”

“Perhaps, perhaps! And what if they are injured by whoever is behind this?!” Angelo exclaimed.

“Have more faith in them, Papa!” Giovanna shot back. “They know what they are doing.”

Angelo threw his hands in the air, letting loose with a string of distressed Italian but not really trying to stop her. Scofield watched him in slight amusement before going to the radio room and leaning in the doorway, listening to Giovanna’s radio attempts while drinking from his rum bottle.

She seemed to be getting somewhere. “Hello, Murray?” she called hopefully when the Riptide answered her call.

The radio crackled. “Giovanna, is that you?!”

_“Si,”_ Giovanna said in relief. “Oh, Murray, we need your and Nick and Cody’s help right away!”

“Right away? Giovanna, what’s wrong?”

“Too much,” Giovanna sighed. “I don’t want to say too much over the radio, but we’ve been experiencing a lot of strange things in the ocean near Martigua over the last several days. I believe some of it went on the news as the latest string of bad luck to attach itself to an Angelo Guirilini expedition.” She practically spat those words, disgusted and frustrated by the media’s attempts to capitalize on what was happening to them.

“Oh no. That’s terrible!” Murray exclaimed. “Really, I know Nick and Cody will want to do whatever they can to help. And you can definitely count me in!”

Giovanna smiled. “I knew we could, Murray. But I should warn you that tonight someone threatened all of us as well as anyone who tries to help us.”

“Well, just wait!” Murray declared. “That’s not going to stop us. Is it, guys?”

Footsteps in the background indicated that Cody and Nick had just entered the area. “Wait, what?” Nick frowned.

“What’s not going to stop us, Murray?” Cody asked.

“Threats against us!” Murray replied. “Giovanna’s on the radio and the whole Guirilini family needs our help!”

“Is Giovanna alright?!” Cody immediately exclaimed.

“For now,” Murray said. “But we need to get there right away!”

“Sure, Murray,” Nick said after a slight pause. They had probably been exchanging silent looks. “Tell her we’ll be there as soon as we can. Tomorrow, or the day after, at the latest.”

“I heard,” Giovanna said, unable to keep from smiling. “Thank you, all of you. I will have the necessary papers here for you when you land.”

“Oh good,” Nick said. “The last thing we want to do is tangle with those local authorities about work permits again.”

“I’ll make sure you won’t have to,” Giovanna promised. “Just please get here quickly!” She paused. “None of us know what to make of it, but someone is apparently trying to make us think this part of the ocean is haunted. They’ve been mysteriously appearing and disappearing in a gondola for the past week. Before tonight, they were completely silent.”

Dead silence followed for a brief moment. “Wow, really?” Murray gasped then. “I’ll make sure to bring whatever ghost-hunting equipment I can, just in case!”

“I’m sure it isn’t really ghosts, Murray, but thank you,” Giovanna said, gently amused at Murray’s fascination with the supernatural. She almost wondered if she would prefer ghosts to evil humans.

Scofield looked intrigued as she ended the radio communication. “So, the Chief likes ghosts, eh?”

“From a scientific standpoint, of course,” Giovanna said.

“Naturally,” Scofield nodded.

She stepped closer to him. “And you had better be careful, Captain Scofield,” she said. “I know you’re tougher than you look, but the same may be able to be said about our enemies. It wasn’t that long ago that you healed from what Guido did to you. I don’t want to see you wounded again. Or worse.”

He looked to her in seeming surprise. “I didn’t know you cared that much about me, Miss Guirilini. I thought I was too rough around the edges and not cultured enough for you.” Still smirking, he replaced the rum bottle in his back pocket.

“You are Papa’s partner on this expedition,” she replied. “I care about you for that reason, and also because you saved all of our lives by stopping Guido and bringing us the knife to untie us. We owe you a great deal.” Stepping back, she added, “As for rough around the edges, perhaps. But you’re more cultured than I believed you were when you first came onboard during the search for Captain Tyson’s treasure.”

“Really?” Scofield mused. “That’s nice to know.”

Giovanna just walked past, smiling slightly to herself.

****

In King Harbor, the Riptide detectives were already packing for a trip on short notice.

“What do you think’s happened down there?” Cody wondered aloud in concern as he transferred clothing to his suitcase. “Giovanna really wasn’t very detailed.”

“Well, obviously it must be pretty bad for her to call for us,” Nick frowned. “Of course, when they’re still near Martigua, we know the police aren’t going to be much help. They don’t have a lot of choice but to call for us.”

“This is the second time they’ve had trouble in the Caribbean, too,” Murray said. “And the third time one of their expeditions has been targeted in general. The very first time was when they were out here!”

“There’s a lot of mysteries in the Caribbean Islands, Murray,” Nick said. “I guess it was just Angelo’s bad luck to stumble across another one.”

“And our luck to find out what’s behind it,” Cody added.

“Are you sure you’re only worried about the mystery?” Nick looked to Cody.

Cody froze in the process of moving several shirts. “What?”

“We all saw that picture in the paper about the latest Guirilini expedition,” Nick said. “Giovanna and Captain Scofield looked pretty cozy.”

“Are you on that again?!” Cody exclaimed. He set the shirts in the suitcase and slammed the lid. “They were just posing for the camera, probably standing close together because they’re around the same height.” He paused. “Anyway, what difference would it make if she got interested in him? We know by now he’s a good guy.”

Nick looked at him seriously. “I know it’s tearing you up inside to think of Giovanna going with someone else,” he said. “Especially after that mess with Guido, you thought you’d have another chance with her.”

“I didn’t think that,” Cody protested.

“And I noticed you’re no longer saying that Scofield’s too old for her,” Nick added.

“There’s probably about twenty years between them, maybe a little less,” Cody said. “That’s not as bad as it could be. He is too old for her, but you’re the one who said that some girls like that. And I don’t really know if Giovanna’s one of them or not. She seems more like the type who wouldn’t care one way or the other, if she liked the guy.”

“That isn’t what you said before,” Nick reminded him.

“Alright, so I’ve been thinking about it,” Cody said in exasperation.

“Because you’re wondering about the competition,” Nick said.

“Yes! . . . No! Look, it was just on my mind when I didn’t have anything else to think about, okay?” If Cody wasn’t holding his suitcase, he would probably throw his hands in the air with dismay.

“Okay, we’ll come back to that. But are we even sure Scofield would want her for her?” Nick said.

Cody paused. “What are you talking about?”

“Think about it!” Nick gestured wildly. “Giovanna’s loaded! Her father’s famous. It costs a lot of money to own a ship like the _Arrivederci_ with all the most modern trappings. Scofield probably doesn’t have much money. He’s just a retired freighter captain running a charter service with a tiny boat. Remember how he wanted to get rich on his share of Captain Tyson’s treasure? Just think how his life would change if he got in with the daughter of Angelo Guirilini, internationally famous oceanographer!”

“So Scofield’s a gold-digger now?” Cody frowned. “Why are we even having this conversation? It’s ridiculous! We don’t even know that they’ve got a romantic interest in each other. And Scofield doesn’t seem the type to marry someone for money.”

“Oh, I agree, Cody,” Murray spoke up. “Scofield’s an honorable man. He wouldn’t do something like that. I think he’d be really hurt if he knew you were thinking that, Nick.”

“Maybe so, but we don’t really know the guy,” Nick said. “It’s something to keep in mind, anyway.”

“Okay, I’ll keep it in mind,” Cody said, mostly out of frustration to end the discussion. “But you’ll see that there’s nothing to it. There’s probably nothing to any of what you’re talking about!”

“We’ll see,” Nick said, taking up his own suitcase. “But Cody, if they really do get together, I want you to open up to me about your feelings, okay? Don’t keep it bottled up inside.”

“Hey, if that’s what Giovanna wants, I’ll be happy for her,” Cody protested. “I never really thought I’d be able to get in with someone like her.”

“I know you always kind of hoped,” Nick said.

“Alright, I kind of hoped,” Cody retorted. “But it was an idle hope, not something I thought would actually happen!”

Murray shook his head, deeming it best to stay out of the conversation. Lifting his suitcase down, and grabbing several other bags, he led the way above deck.

“Murray, what’s all this other junk you’re bringing with us?” Nick asked, deciding he wanted a different subject too.

“Oh, this?” Murray indicated the black bag slung over his shoulder and a tripod in his hand. “This is my state-of-the-art ghost-hunting kit. You know, just in case it really isn’t living people trying to scare Angelo away this time.”

“So now we’re the Ghostbusters?” Nick quipped. “Look at all this stuff!”

“Murray, I’m not sure they’re going to let you take all of this through Customs,” Cody exclaimed.

“Well, if they won’t, maybe I can fit the most important things into my suitcase,” Murray suggested. “I can probably buy whatever else I need down there.”

“What if it is ghosts?” Cody asked. “Not that I even believe there are ghosts, but let’s say for the sake of argument that it’s true. What would you do? I mean, you’re not a licensed exorcist.”

“First we’d have to determine what kind of ghost it is,” Murray replied. “There’s more kinds of ghosts than you’ve probably ever imagined, and different ways of handling each kind.”

Cody and Nick exchanged a bemused look. “You mean it’s not just ‘Help, we’ve got a ghost on the water’, it’s ‘Help, we’ve got this kind or that kind of ghost on the water’?” Nick said.

“Yeah!” Murray said. “First we have to determine if it’s a residual haunting or an intelligent haunting. Since Giovanna says it’s doing something different now than it was before, it must be an intelligent haunting. A residual haunting isn’t really the spirit of a dead person coming back; it’s just stored energy from some serious event that’s stuck in time and replaying over and over, exactly the same way every time.”

Cody scratched his head. “You know, Murray, that sounds really farfetched. I mean, even more than a dead person coming back.”

“Oh, there’s plenty of documented scientific evidence towards the idea of residual haunting,” Murray said. “I’ll admit that a lot of scientists are still skeptical, but it definitely goes a long way in explaining supernatural events that repeat over and over without change. You wouldn’t think the actual spirits of people would want to hang around and act out the past indefinitely, would you?”

“Frankly, I don’t know _what_ I think,” Cody answered. “I’ve never really thought about it.”

“But okay, so we figure it’s an intelligent haunting,” Nick said. “You’re saying there’s more to it than even that?”

“We’re just getting started,” Murray declared, growing more excited the longer he talked. “There’s benevolent ghosts—I guess it wouldn’t be that—benign ghosts—I guess it wouldn’t be that, either. . . . Messenger ghosts are a possibility. Anniversary ghosts . . . warning ghosts . . .”

Nick turned to Cody in chagrin. “I’m gonna have nightmares all the way to Martigua,” he moaned.

“And I’ll probably be having them right there with you,” Cody said.


	2. Chapter 2

It was Captain Scofield who met them in Martigua, bringing with him the necessary papers to let them onto the island without trouble. It didn’t hurt that the man on duty at the gate was the same one Scofield had bribed to spy on the detectives before. One look at Scofield handing over the papers and he allowed the detectives in without a fuss.

“Well, now, hello again,” Scofield said smoothly, leaning on the counter as he turned to look at the group. “Chief. Mr. Allen, Mr. Ryder.”

“Hi,” Murray chirped with a wave.

“Hey, Captain,” Cody greeted, while Nick eyed him warily. “Where’s the Guirilinis?”

“On the ship,” Scofield replied. “They’ve pulled back in at the dock for now, but they’re all tied up at the moment. So they sent me to bring you boys out.”

“He’s still calling us boys,” Nick hissed in Cody’s ear.

Cody waved him off. “So what’s actually been going on?” he asked. “We don’t know much more than what Giovanna told us over the radio last night.”

“Well, now, that’s a long story,” Scofield drawled. “And I understand that you’ve brought your ghost-hunting equipment, Chief.” He looked to Murray, who gave an enthusiastic nod.

“Everything I could fit on the plane,” he declared.

“Of course, there might not really be any ghosts,” Scofield said as he led them onto the old, clanking Volkswagen Bus that served as one of Martigua’s taxi cabs.

“There probably aren’t,” Nick spoke, “but that’s why we want you to tell us everything that’s been happening.”

Scofield leaned back as the bus groaned and started to move. “Miss Guirilini filled you in on most of it,” he said. “I was there and I heard what she was telling you. It started a week ago, with the fog comin’ in every night and this mysterious gondola easin’ itself out of the mists. Scared the crew out of their boots, I’m telling you. Just seeing that without hearing anything was enough to make most of them run for their bloody lives. And then what happened last night, with the chap finally saying something and threatening the lot of us, sent the rest of those superstitious idiots runnin’ for shore this morning.”

“I think even without believing in ghosts and superstitions, that would be more than enough to scare off a lot of people,” Cody said. “Even if they thought it was a living person doing it, that’s a scary thing, being told you’re all going to die.”

Scofield nodded. “You’re quite right, and Captain Guirilini is willing to cut those deserters some slack because of that. But the truth of the matter is that they all think the expedition’s cursed, the ship’s cursed, and everybody foolish enough to stay with it is cursed.”

“This sure sounds like déjà vu,” Nick sighed, shaking his head. “Except for the ghost bit, of course.”

“And I’m going to find out once and for all whether it’s ghosts,” Murray declared.

“I guess you’re gonna be checking for auras and all that kind of stuff again,” Nick said.

“That’s just one aspect of this investigation,” Murray retorted.

“What about that bug spray stuff?” Nick persisted. Cody snickered to himself.

“Well, I could spray the ship, if Angelo wants that,” Murray said. “But I think it would be better to try to find out why the ghost wants everyone to stay away. That would mean not spraying with the, err, ghost repellent.”

“You never did say what you were actually going to do if it is a ghost,” Cody said.

“You just kept us awake telling us all the different kinds of ghosts,” Nick added.

“Like I said, there’s different things to do depending on what kind of ghost it is,” Murray insisted. “For instance, if it’s a messenger ghost, then naturally we have to talk to it and get the message.”

“I think they’ve already got the message, Murray,” Nick said.

“Yeah, that spear was mighty telling,” Scofield said. “Now if you can tell me how it disappeared, Chief, we might start getting somewhere.”

“A spear?!” the trio echoed in shock.

Scofield nodded. “They threw it right at Miss Guirilini. Then when I went to pick it up, it vanished, leaving behind a puddle of water.”

“Wait, is Giovanna alright?!” Cody interrupted.

“Oh yeah, she’s fine,” Scofield assured him. “It had already happened when she radioed you boys.”

Murray frowned. “I’d say the spear was either a ghost or a hologram if it wasn’t for the water left behind. That’s really unusual. Did you make sure the water was real, Captain?” he asked.

“That was the first thing I did after the spear vanished,” Scofield said. “It was real, alright.”

“Very unusual indeed,” Murray declared, shaking his head.

By now the bus was pulling up at the docks. The _Arrivederci, Baby_ was anchored on one of the piers.

“I’m afraid all of you will have to pinch-hit until Guirilini can find some more crewmembers,” Scofield said as he got down from the seat and headed for the door.

“Well, that’s no problem,” Nick said.

“Yeah, we’ll be happy to fill in while Murray tries to catch our ghost,” Cody added.

Murray was about to retort when the sight of someone getting off the ship perked him up. “Hey, it’s Angelo!” he announced. “He’s coming to meet us!”

“Great,” Cody said, following Scofield and the others off the bus.

“Ah, my friends!” Angelo exclaimed as they drew closer. “Bozin the Doctor, Nick the Pilot, and Cody the Mustache!”

Cody tried to push back his embarrassment. “Hey, Angelo,” he greeted, very keenly aware that Scofield was giving him a highly amused look. “It’s really good to see you again.”

“I only wish it wasn’t under such disturbing circumstances!” Angelo bemoaned, embracing each of the detectives in turn. “By helping us, you are putting yourselves under the curse!”

“Well, we don’t believe in curses,” Cody said. “And if it’s just a regular old human doing it, we’ll catch him.”

“But will that be before or after someone is harmed?” Angelo worried.

“Hey, Angelo, don’t worry,” Nick said, clapping the older man on the shoulder. “No one’s going to get hurt.”

Angelo still looked worried. “I hope you are right, Nick the Pilot,” he said.

Giovanna came on deck by the time they reached the pier and were climbing onto the Arrivederci. “You’re here!” she smiled. “I was getting worried.”

“Giovanna!” Cody beamed, relieved to see that she really did seem to be just fine.

“Everything went like clockwork, Miss Guirilini,” Scofield declared. “You gave me the right papers and the boys got aboard without any trouble.”

“Well, good,” Giovanna returned. “And there weren’t any accidents on the way here?”

“No accidents,” Cody said. “Unlike what’s been going on here. Captain Scofield said somebody threw a spear at you!”

“And missed, thanks to him,” Giovanna put in. “But it couldn’t have been a real spear anyway, when it disappeared like that.”

“Can you show me exactly where it happened?” Murray spoke up. “I should set up some of my equipment there and take some readings.”

“Of course. It was right up this way,” Giovanna said, leading him towards the bow.

Cody and Nick trailed after them. “You know, I think Murray really wants it to be a ghost,” Nick said under his breath.

“I’m not sure what would be worse,” Cody frowned.

“And what do you think of how Scofield and Giovanna are interacting?” Nick persisted.

“Very professional, nothing more,” Cody retorted.

“It sounds like Scofield saved her from the spear,” Nick said.

“Just like any decent person would do,” Cody shot back.

“Unless he arranged the whole thing to make himself look good in her eyes,” Nick hissed.

Cody felt like throwing his hands in the air. “For crying out loud!” he said instead. “Scofield isn’t behind any of this. I’m sure of that.”

“I hope you’re right, Buddy Boy,” Nick said.

“I am,” Cody snorted. “This is just ridiculous. I know I was just as suspicious of him in the past, but I let that go after he saved our lives.”

“A guy could be decent enough to do that but still not be so nice in other ways,” Nick pointed out.

“I know that,” Cody scoffed. “It’s just that I don’t think he’s in that category! And he’s right behind us, you know. I don’t know how he could help but hear everything we’re saying.”

But if Scofield heard, he chose to say nothing. Which, Cody hoped, meant he really didn’t hear.

By now they had reached the bow of the ship. Murray had been talking a mile a minute, explaining all of his equipment to Giovanna and how he was going to set it up and use it. Giovanna was nodding and listening, seeming both interested and amused. Cody decided to tune in; it had to be better than hearing Nick’s wild theories.

“. . . Now I’m going to put this special camera right here,” Murray announced. “It will show us if there are any auras in the area. And this meter here should register whether there’s an overabundance of electromagnetic energy in this spot.”

“And that will tell us if there are ghosts?” Giovanna wondered, folding her arms.

“It would be a clue in that direction,” Murray said.

“That’s really interesting and all, Chief, but somehow I don’t think all that fancy machinery can ever really piece together the mysteries surrounding ghosts.” Scofield folded his arms. “The natives have claimed that the ghosts have been here a lot longer than this stuff has. And they’ve spotted them just fine as it is.”

“Yeah, but they’re also overly superstitious and believe that ghosts are around a lot of times when there’s a logical explanation,” Nick said. “What about you, Captain? Do you believe there’s ghosts? And what about voodoo? That’s around here a lot, isn’t it?”

“Now we’re getting into some gray territory,” Scofield mused. “I’ve been in this part of the world for a long time, Mr. Ryder, and I’ve seen a lot of strange things I can’t explain. I can’t say I believe in ghosts or voodoo, but I also don’t know that I can say they don’t exist. And yes, there’s a lot of voodoo around here.”

“Have you ever seen a voodoo priest at work?” Cody wondered, finding himself genuinely curious. The last time they had been there, they had been so occupied with Angelo’s problems and being suspicious of Scofield that they really hadn’t had time to take in the local culture.

“I have, actually,” Scofield replied. “You can’t live in these parts as long as I have without seein’ that at least once.”

“So what happened?” Nick demanded. “Did he chant over a voodoo doll and somebody dropped dead?”

Scofield chuckled. “You know, the funny thing about voodoo dolls is that they’re really meant to bring good luck, not bad. A lot of people don’t know that because Hollywood villainized voodoo and everything connected with it.”

“Oh yeah?” Nick blinked. “That’s interesting. I never would’ve thought that.”

“I knew about that, Nick,” Murray said, glancing up from where he was positioning the camera. “All those things about voodoo priests trying to kill people with their magic, that’s wrong. The only ones that actually do that are renegades.”

Scofield nodded. “So in answer to your question, what I saw was a blessing ceremony. The priest blessed everyone in attendance to have good fortune the next day.”

“And did they?” Cody pressed.

“Well, nobody keeled over or nothing like that,” Scofield shrugged. “Maybe everybody would’ve had a good day anyway, but I suppose a few blessings here and there couldn’t hurt.”

“Oh wow!” Murray exclaimed without warning.

Everyone jumped a mile.

“What is it, Bozin the Doctor?!” Angelo cried. “Have you found something?”

“Have I! The needle’s giving me the highest rating it ever has!” Murray held up the meter and the group crowded around.

“So? Ghosts can’t be the only reason for that,” Nick frowned.

“They’re not, but it would be unscientific to discount the possibility,” Murray replied.

“Well,” Scofield said slowly, rubbing his chin, “I guess we’ll see.”

****

The group went inside after Murray finished setting up his equipment, which included a tape recorder. “There’s plenty of documented evidence that ghosts will speak into tape recorders, even if only a few words,” he insisted, and Cody and Nick opted not to protest.

Giovanna went into the galley to retrieve the treats she had been preparing for the detectives’ arrival. When Captain Scofield sidled in after her, she casually glanced over her shoulder at him.

“So,” she greeted, “I didn’t know you’d had so many experiences with voodoo, Captain Scofield.”

“I wouldn’t really say I had ‘so many’, Miss Guirilini,” Scofield answered, picking up one of the two snack trays. “Just now and then.”

She smiled at him for his help as she collected the second tray. “Well, I suppose the logical question to ask is, have you ever met a renegade voodoo priest?”

“Met one, no. Seen one, yes.” Scofield carried the tray into the main room where the others had gathered. “He was ranting and raving and carrying on about something. Probably cursing someone or another.”

Giovanna looked to Murray as she followed Scofield in. “So, Murray, do you think we’re under a renegade voodoo curse?” she asked playfully.

Murray started. “Huh? Oh. Well, I guess that’s another possibility, but then we’d have to ask ourselves why any renegade voodoo priest would want to curse this expedition.”

“Why would anyone at all want to?” Cody returned.

Angelo shook his head. “I have been going over and over it in my mind and nothing makes sense!” he berated. “Tony and Giovanna and even Capitan Scofield have been diving under the ship to see if anything seems out of place in the ocean. But unlike the other times, there is nothing!”

“Maybe we should plot a course that would take us past all the places you were at when you saw the gondola,” Cody suggested. “If there’s something you’re not supposed to see, it has to be on that course somewhere, even if you haven’t reached it yet. They were probably trying to turn you away before you could get to it.”

“Yes, we have thought of that, Cody the Mustache,” Angelo sighed. “That is part of why we have kept going despite the threats. But after what happened last night, I don’t know that we should go on at all anymore.”

“Oh, Papa,” Giovanna sighed too. “We have been all over this! We cannot let them get away with whatever it is they’re trying to do! That’s why we sent for our friends. Surely you’re not going to have brought them out here for nothing, huh?”

“Giovanna’s right,” Murray said. “We came to help and that’s what we intend to do.”

Cody and Nick nodded in agreement. “So why don’t we go out now to the first spot where you saw the gondola?” Cody said.

Angelo leaned back, deeply in thought about it. “Very well,” he said at last. “We will go to the spot. But I still do not know that it is the right thing to do.”

“It’s the only way we’re likely to figure out what’s going on, Angelo,” Nick said.

Weariness played across Angelo’s features. “If only we could find out without harm coming to anyone,” he said.

“We’ll do our best,” Cody promised.

****

The ride to the first “haunted” spot proceeded in peace. Cody, Nick, and Murray mostly spent the time visiting with the Guirilinis and catching up on what had been happening in the months since they had seen them. Captain Scofield leaned back and listened, drinking from his ever-present rum bottle.

It was only when Giovanna got up to take the empty trays to the galley that Cody jumped up and offered his help in order to get a moment alone with her. But even as the words tumbled out of his mouth and Giovanna smiled, pleased, he wondered what he was really going to say. It was easy to talk to her when the others were there; he didn’t have to be the one really carrying the conversation. But alone, he always ended up so tongue-tied.

Really, he realized in chagrin, he barely knew her. They had only associated for less than three weeks, counting both prior encounters. Romantic interest or not, Scofield probably knew her better after working with Angelo on this latest expedition. It had been months in the making.

“So, Giovanna,” he said when they entered the galley and he knew he had to say _something,_ “what’s it been like these last few months? You know, aside from the weird stuff that’s started to happen. What’s it been like being around Captain Scofield so much lately, for instance?”

Giovanna threw him an amused look. “He is a strange man,” she said. “Nice enough, friendly enough, but he’s aloof. He keeps people at arm’s length.”

“But he treats you well,” Cody quickly interjected.

“Yes,” Giovanna blinked. “Actually, to my surprise it’s been nice having him around after Guido. . . . He’s such a character. He certainly helps to get my mind off of those unpleasant memories. Of course, he associates more with Papa than with me.”

“Oh,” Cody said, feeling awkward again. “I thought there might be times when you’d be alone together or . . .” He knew he was blushing.

Giovanna looked further amused now. “Well, there have been a few times where we talked a little before going to bed. In our separate cabins,” she emphasized.

Now Cody knew his entire face could give Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer a run for his money. “That’s . . . that’s good,” he stammered. “I really didn’t mean . . .”

But Murray’s sudden exclamation saved him from further embarrassment. “We’re here! We’re here!” he yelled into the galley as he thundered past. “And something’s happening above deck!”

Exchanging amazed looks, Cody and Giovanna left the galley and hurried after him.

Nick and Angelo were topside, staring at what seemed to be a harmless enough gondola floating in the water. “Look at this, Nick the Pilot!” Angelo was exclaiming. “This must be our ghost boat. But where is the gondolier?!”

Giovanna hurried over as they reached the top of the stairs. “I don’t like this,” she frowned. “He just left it here, where we would be sure to see it?”

“It’s close enough that we could jump over to it,” Cody said. Before anyone could protest, he vaulted over the railing and leaped into the gondola. It rocked but didn’t overturn.

“See anything?” Scofield asked.

“No,” Cody called back. “It’s empty.”

“Are you sure?” Now Nick was flying over the railing after him. He landed on the other side of the gondola. “It doesn’t make sense. There has to be _something_ here.”

“Not unless it’s on the bottom of the boat,” Cody retorted. “Something’s not right here. He wouldn’t just leave his boat here unless there was some reason for it. And that reason probably involves causing some kind of trouble for us or the Guirilinis and Scofield.”

“Maybe we should get out and check the bottom of the boat,” Nick suggested. “Just to be thorough.”

“That’s a good idea,” Cody said.

“You lads had better come back up here,” Scofield called, leaning on the railing of the _Arrivederci_. “No real sailor would abandon his boat unless . . .”

He was cut off as a small but fierce explosion under the surface spun the gondola out of the water and sent Cody and Nick flying into the water. Giovanna screamed. Angelo and Murray cried out in horror.

Swearing under his breath, Scofield removed his hat and shoes and dove into the water, seeking the two detectives and fearing the worst. When a dazed Cody bobbed to the surface, Scofield hurried to his side. “How badly are you hurt?” he demanded.

“Not bad, I don’t think,” Cody mumbled. “The explosion was meant more as a warning. It wasn’t strong enough to kill. But . . .” He perked up as a horrible realization came to him. “Nick. Where’s Nick?!”

“He’s not up,” Scofield told him. “They’re sending out a lifeline for you. Take it and I’ll look for Mr. Ryder.” Without waiting for a response, he disappeared under the surface.

Cody barely processed the life preserver flying down at him. “Cody!” Murray yelled. “Come on; we’ll pull you back up!”

Cody rested one arm on it but continued to stare at the water. Scofield came up once, without Nick, and dived again. After the sequence repeated a second time, Cody couldn’t stand it. Pushing the life preserver away from him, he followed Scofield under the water.

“Cody the Mustache!” Angelo shouted.

Giovanna gripped the railing, her knuckles turning white. Each second felt like an agonizing year. Now none of them were coming back up. She was just about ready to dive in after all three of them.

“Cody!” she wailed. “Nick! Jack!”

There was no response.


	3. Chapter 3

Cody’s heart nearly stopped when he got under the water and saw Scofield trying to disentangle a limp Nick from what seemed to be a patch of heavy wire. But when he swam closer, he saw to at least some relief that Nick was semi-conscious. With one hand he tried to brush the wire aside, not aware enough to know that wouldn’t work.

Scofield gestured to Cody with urgency. They really needed wire cutters, but he wasn’t sure there was time to go up and get some. Scofield, however, needed to surface by now anyway. He headed for the top while Cody struggled with the wire.

Anger and fury built in Cody’s veins as he worked. Whether ghosts were involved in this mess was irrelevant now, as far as he was concerned; someone living had left the explosion and the wire.

Nick stirred, rousing up a bit more. Still confused, he blinked at Cody and then finally seemed to process that the wire wrapped around him was not likely to budge without some serious work. He managed to find one end of a piece and tried to unwind it from around his torso. Swearing in his mind, Cody tried to help.

Scofield returned after a moment, wire cutters in hand. Relieved, Cody backed away and let him finish freeing Nick. By now he and Nick had mostly got the wire off, but a couple of strands had still stubbornly refused to untangle. When the last bit was cut free, Cody grabbed Nick and they headed to the surface. Scofield followed close behind, uneasily glancing back at the scene they were leaving.

Murray and the Guirilinis were alarmed and waiting as the group surfaced. “Is Nick alright?!” Giovanna exclaimed. She had given Scofield the wire cutters when he had surfaced before, and had wanted to accompany him back down. She would have, if they had not returned when they did.

“Yeah,” Nick sputtered and coughed. “Thanks to these guys.”

A rope ladder was thrust down and he slowly began to climb up, with Cody and Scofield not far behind. Murray held the ladder in place, watching his friends with alarmed eyes. Angelo hovered around, worried for all of them and angry over what had happened.

“This is outrageous!” he cried as Giovanna and Tony provided the boarding men with heavy blankets. “You see what I mean? This is why I didn’t want all of you to come here!”

“This would’ve happened whether we were here or not,” Cody said, shivering and burrowing into the blanket. “It just would’ve happened to someone other than us.”

“Somebody doesn’t want anyone in this area or on this course, and it sure as heck isn’t ghosts,” Nick added.

“Oh, there could still be ghosts, Nick,” Murray insisted. “It’s just that they didn’t plant that bomb.” He looked Nick and Cody over, unconvinced that they were alright. “Are you guys really okay?”

“Sure, Murray, sure,” Nick replied. “Just as soon as I have a nice, hot shower, I’ll be just fine.”

“I think we could all use a shower,” Cody shivered.

“Of course, of course!” Angelo exclaimed. “Take all the time you need, Nick the Pilot, Cody the Mustache. And Capitan Scofield.” He started to head for the bridge. “And I am going to have us turn back to Martigua again. You should be examined by a doctor.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary, Angelo,” Cody said. “At least not for me. Nick should probably be checked out.”

“What? I’m fine!” Nick exclaimed.

“You were knocked out for at least a couple of minutes,” Cody said. “Who knows how much of the ocean you ended up swallowing in that amount of time.”

“Not enough for a hospital visit!” Nick retorted.

“I think it would be a good idea anyway,” Murray said. “For both of you.”

“ _I_ don’t need it,” Cody insisted. “ _Nick_ needs it.”

“I don’t need it, either,” Nick shot back. “But Cody, listen. What if you were knocked out and you didn’t know it?”

“I wasn’t knocked out!” Cody insisted. “I swam to the surface by the time Scofield dove in after us, and that was almost instantly.”

“Maybe you were knocked out for a few seconds,” Nick suggested.

“So what if I was?” Cody exclaimed. “That’s not like being knocked out for several minutes!”

They continued to argue as they headed below deck to find the showers. Scofield watched them in a bit of amusement. “Those two never stop, do they?”

“Not usually,” Giovanna sighed. “They are both so stubborn!”

“They always have been,” Scofield mused.

Murray nodded. “It’s like that all the time at home. Since everyone seems to be okay, I’m going to go check my tape.”

Giovanna looked to him in surprise. “But Murray, do you really think that you’ll be able to hear anything over the sound of the bomb?”

“Probably not,” Murray admitted. “If there’s anything on it, more likely it’s at another part of the tape.”

Scofield watched him hurry over to where he had set up his equipment. “That’s the Chief for you,” he said. “And if you’ll be excusing me, I’m going to get cleaned up myself.”

“Of course, Capitan Scofield,” Angelo said, stepping out of the way. “Oh, this is horrible. It could have been so much worse, and who knows what else is in store for this little party if we keep on!”

Scofield paused at the doorway. “We could stop if you really want to, Captain Guirilini, but that wouldn’t solve anything, either.”

“ _Si_ , Papa,” Giovanna chimed in. “They would only go after the next people to try to come this route.”

“Maybe not,” Angelo said. “Maybe it’s only something under the water that they don’t want to have found. Maybe they wouldn’t bother ordinary people passing by in boats.”

“Unless they thought there were divers onboard,” Scofield pointed out. “As I see it, Captain Guirilini, it’s either going to be us taking the lumps or innocent strangers. And I vote for us. At least we’ve had some experience with this sort of thing by now and will be expecting trouble.”

Angelo gave a heavy sigh. “You are right, Capitan Scofield,” he consented. “But I detest having to make such a choice. I do not want anyone to suffer, our friends or strangers.”

“Unfortunately, sometimes that’s the way it is,” Scofield replied. “These Riptide boys should be able to figure out what’s happening . . . if they can avoid being blown up long enough.”

Angelo cringed at the accuracy of that statement. But before he could think of a reply, Scofield had vanished below deck.

Giovanna folded her arms. “I’m not sure he’s entirely happy that we sent for them,” she said slowly.

“I am not entirely happy that we sent for them!” Angelo retorted. “Almost immediately after their arrival, Cody the Mustache and Nick the Pilot were hurt!”

“And maybe that’s what’s troubling Scofield,” Giovanna said. “Maybe he isn’t sure they can handle the job. His only experience with them was when they were both convinced that he was behind our troubles and they didn’t even look into other possibilities because of how sure they were.” She looked down. “I was suspicious of him as well.”

Angelo looked to her in surprise. “But we are past all of that,” he protested. “We are all friends now.”

“But that doesn’t mean he would think they could handle the case,” Giovanna pointed out.

“Capitan Scofield speaks his mind,” Angelo said. “If he didn’t believe Cody the Mustache and Nick the Pilot could handle the case, he would have said something.”

“Maybe not, Papa,” Giovanna retorted. “He might think Murray would have better luck. He respects Murray a great deal.”

Angelo sighed, his shoulders slumping. “Well, even if Capitan Scofield isn’t pleased, what difference does it really make in a situation such as this? It does not change anything.”

“No,” Giovanna said slowly. “I suppose not. Except that if there is tension among ourselves, it will only make our problems worse.” She looked to where Murray was concentrating on listening to his tape recording.

Angelo followed her gaze. Though he did not speak now, he recognized the value of her words. Thinking of it that way, it _was_ a concern.

“. . . When it looked like they were all in danger, I noticed you called him ‘Jack’.”

Giovanna turned to look at her father. “I was worried. It just slipped out.”

Angelo smiled. “Of course.”

****

Nick sighed as he shuffled into the main room after a hot shower. Scofield was already there, gazing off into the distance and drinking from his rum bottle. His hair was still damp from having washed it.

“Feelin’ better, Mr. Ryder?” he spoke after a moment.

Nick blinked in surprise that Scofield had known it was him. “Yeah,” he said slowly. “Thanks, for what you did. I remember you were there helping Cody get me loose.”

Scofield nodded, but still looked distant. Finally he turned, looking Nick squarely in the eyes. “Then let’s clear the air, why don’t we. You’re still thinking I’m up to no good.”

Nick flushed. “I never said that. I don’t think you’d do anything to actually hurt someone, like set a bomb.”

“But you think I might lead Miss Guirilini on or fake something dangerous so’s I could pretend to ‘rescue’ her.”

Now Nick was thoroughly embarrassed. “If you heard me saying all that stuff, why didn’t you say something then?”

“You weren’t airing it in public. I saw no reason to do differently.” Scofield stared him down. “So in private I’ll tell you that I wouldn’t do anything like that. I was always straight with Captain Guirilini and you and your friends, even when you didn’t believe me. And I wouldn’t lead any girl on. If I was interested in one, she’d have to like me for me. I wouldn’t put on airs.”

Finally Nick nodded. He found he really believed Scofield meant it. “Okay. I’m sorry for what I was thinking.”

Scofield looked appeased but went on, “But now for what I’ve been holding back. I’ll say now, I’m not sure you and Mr. Allen are the right ones for this job. I believe in your colleague, the Chief, but you lads seem insistent on focusing on one possibility for these crimes and not considering all angles.”

“You could argue that Murray’s pretty insistent on believing in the possibility of ghosts for this case,” Nick said, not sure what to think or even feel about what Scofield was telling him. Still, he supposed, it wasn’t that surprising that Scofield would be skeptical.

“But he doesn’t think that’s the only choice. And he most certainly won’t think that now that this bomb’s gone off.”

Nick frowned. “I’m sorry how we handled your case, Captain. And I guess you’ve got a right to not believe in us after that. But we really are good.”

“The Guirilinis believe in you, so I’ve tried to also,” Scofield said. “But it’s not so easy when things like this happen as soon as you join the expedition.”

“Yeah, I guess it wouldn’t be,” Nick admitted. “I’m pretty mad at myself for that too. We could both be dead now.”

“Since you’re not, I’ll expect to see some improvement in your work,” Scofield said. He replaced the rum bottle in his pocket and sat up straighter. “I’ve been with the Guirilinis for some time now and I don’t intend to see them hurt. I know you don’t, either.”

“That’s right.” Nick sat down on the couch opposite Scofield. “But hey, while we’re dropping bombshells, what is the deal with you and Giovanna, anyway?”

“Nothing, as far as I know,” Scofield retorted. “You’ve got Mr. Allen believing it, but I doubt she’d be interested in a rough old salt like me. She wants somebody refined. Italian too, probably.”

“And younger?” Nick added pointedly.

Scofield cleared his throat uncomfortably. “You’ll have to ask her that. But any way you look at it, I’m not sure Mr. Allen would like you fiddlin’ around in his love life.”

“I’m just looking out for him,” Nick shot back. “He’s had a crush on Giovanna since the first time he saw her.”

“He hasn’t acted on it, though,” Scofield said. “If he wants her, you should tell him to make a move already. If he doesn’t, someone else is likely to.”

“Yeah, that’s a good point,” Nick said. “Someone like you?” He folded his arms. “You’re still good at sliding around questions. You only talked about how you thought Giovanna would feel. You didn’t say anything about yourself.”

Scofield had to smirk at that. “That’s one thing you’re good at—recognizing when I’m being evasive. Yes, I care about Miss Guirilini, although I don’t know that I’d say I care about her in that way.”

“In what way, then?” Nick demanded.

“I believe that’s my business, even if you are just lookin’ out for your friend,” Scofield replied.

Nick scowled, realizing he wasn’t going to get any more answers out of this man right now. “You aren’t shy about trying to get what you want,” he said as he stood. “So I guess that means that if you were really interested in Giovanna, you’d be making a move too.”

“Maybe,” Scofield said, “we should let Miss Guilirini decide. Or,” he added, “maybe we should focus on what’s more important right now, like catching whoever set that bomb.”

Nick froze. “Okay, you’ve got me there,” he said. “But that could take a while, so this whole thing about Giovanna could come to a head before it’s over.”

“Then we’ll see about it if that happens,” Scofield said calmly. “Hello, Mr. Allen.”

Nick started and turned. Cody had arrived in the doorway, drying at his hair with a towel. “See about what?” he frowned.

“Oh, nothing much,” Nick said airily. “Come on, let’s go up on deck and see if Murray’s found anything.”

The trip was unnecessary. Suddenly Murray thundered down the stairs with an exclamation of excitement. “It’s here! Eureka! I told you guys this was a legitimate form of supernatural communication!”

“Murray, you think you’ve recorded a ghost on there?” Cody blinked.

“There’s something on here that definitely isn’t any of our voices,” Murray said. “It’s right before the blast. I can’t entirely make it out, but it sounds like ‘Look out.’”

“So the ghost was warning us?” Nick blinked. “I thought it was supposed to be an unfriendly ghost.”

“I guess it all depends on what its intentions were,” Murray said.

“And if it’s a ghost at all,” Scofield drawled, slowly getting up from the couch to come over and see.

“There wasn’t anyone else there who could have said it,” Murray insisted. He held up the tape recorder and hit Play.

Everyone crowded in, straining to hear what Murray was adamant was there. But when the sound of the explosion echoed through the cabin seconds later and chilled them all, they were still just as puzzled.

“That ‘voice’ sounded like the wind to me, Murray,” Cody said.

“If it was words at all, it sounded like ‘Lights out,’” Nick said.

“It sounded like Italian,” Scofield grunted.

“Italian!” Murray’s eyes widened. “Quick, find the Guirilinis. They need to listen to this!”

It didn’t take long to round up the Guirilinis. But even when they listened, they were perplexed as well.

“I don’t know, Murray,” Giovanna said slowly. “It really doesn’t sound like anything distinguishable.”

“I cannot make it out, either,” Angelo said, shaking his head.

“Well, it’s something,” Murray insisted. “I’m going to run it through some more tests and isolate that segment to make it more audible.”

“And you’ll probably find that it’s nothing more than an ocean breeze,” Cody said.

“And if it isn’t, we’ll see how smug are then!” Murray declared. “I’ll have plenty of time to research while we’re on Martigua!”

Both Cody and Nick looked to Angelo with a start. “We’re really going back?” Cody said in chagrin.

Angelo nodded. “So that you and Nick the Pilot can be looked at by a doctor,” he said firmly.

“And I asked our favorite local authority to listen for any word on the street concerning who might want to disrupt this expedition,” Scofield said. “This’ll give me a chance to check in with him.”

“When did you do that?” Cody said in surprise.

“I slipped a note in with your papers,” Scofield said. “I know he saw it.”

“And I’m guessing you slipped a little green stuff in there too,” Cody said. “Or whatever color the money is here.”

Scofield shrugged. “That’s just the way it’s done down here,” he said. “I’d never try that on someone I didn’t already know can be bought.” He folded his arms. “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t do exactly the same thing if you wanted information on one of your cases.”

Cody and Nick exchanged an awkward look. “Okay, you’ve got us there,” Nick said.

“So don’t be pullin’ no high and mighty act,” Scofield scolded.

“I think going back to Martigua is a good idea,” Murray said. “You guys can be checked over, Captain Scofield can check with his informant, and maybe we can find some persons of interest before we get underway again.”

Cody sighed, folding his arms. “I guess you’ve got a point about the case. And since we’re already on our way back, we might as well make the best of it.”

“Good things will come of going back. I am certain of it!” Angelo spoke firmly.

“Maybe, if you are both given a clean bill of health, we can find somewhere nice to have dinner,” Giovanna said, hoping to get them more interested in the detour.

Cody definitely perked up. “That sounds great,” he declared.

Giovanna smiled. “Good.”

“We should be back at the island soon now,” Angelo said. “We weren’t very far out.”

“So did this start happening on the first day of the expedition?” Cody frowned.

“You got it,” Scofield nodded. “Oh, some strange things were happening before we actually set out, but they were minor and we paid very little attention to them.”

“What kind of minor things?” Nick asked.

“Mostly things getting misplaced,” Scofield said. “We found most of them.”

Cody’s mind kept working. “What didn’t get found?”

“Papa’s log book,” Giovanna sighed.

“I was sure I had simply mislaid it,” Angelo said. “But after what started happening on the ocean, I am no longer sure of anything!”

“Why would anyone want your log book?” Cody wondered. “Did you have anything in it about the current expedition?”

“I wrote about the preparations we were making,” Angelo said. “There was a section at the back for notes that I was using.”

“My log book also disappeared,” Scofield said. “I looked on my boat before we left, but it just wasn’t there.”

“And you wrote the same kind of things in yours?” Cody asked.

“Some,” Scofield agreed. “Also a record of some charters I took out right before we left.”

“Could one of your charters have stolen your book?” Cody queried.

“That’s what I figure, if I really didn’t just misplace it. Only problem is, I can’t recollect any of them acting suspicious, so it doesn’t narrow things down any.” Scofield looked annoyed.

“If you’ve still got a list of their names, maybe Murray can run them through the computer,” Nick suggested.

Scofield nodded, looking thoughtful. “I should have their names among my billing records. I’ll look that up when we dock.”

****

Angelo was right—they reached Martigua shortly. As they disembarked, Scofield went to check his little office on the docks for billing records while Angelo called a cab. But Scofield emerged after a moment, displeased and puzzled.

“All of my records from the past week are gone,” he fumed.

Cody started. “You’re sure?”

“Of course I am,” Scofield growled. “Someone broke in and took them, then made it look like nothing had happened.”

Nick went to check the door. “It doesn’t look like it’s been jimmied,” he noted. “Does anyone else have a key?”

“Just the landlord,” Scofield told him. “It was probably somebody who knew how to pick locks.”

“Well, what are you going to do about this?” Cody asked. “Call the police?”

“First I’d like to hear what my friend at the airport has to say,” Scofield said. “He should be gettin’ off work about now.”

Cody made a displeased face. He couldn’t say he liked the thought of running across that character twice in one day. But he was curious to know what would be said as well.

“Just drop me off at the airport on your way to the hospital,” Scofield interjected. “He’ll probably talk better if it’s just me.”

Nick sighed. He had still been hoping he could get out of the hospital trip. But he had to agree that Scofield’s argument sounded logical.

The last thing any of them were expecting was the sight of flashing lights and an ambulance at the airport. Scofield immediately got out, followed by the Riptide crew. “What happened?” Scofield demanded of the nearest person, a local police officer.

“Hit-and-run,” the officer replied.

“Dead?” Scofield looked to the paramedics bringing the gurney.

“No, but badly hurt and unconscious.”

Cody had a definite sinking feeling. He wasn’t really surprised when the paramedics got close enough that he could see the injured man was the one Scofield had been coming to see. But he gave Nick a troubled look anyway.

Whoever these people were, they were serious.


	4. Chapter 4

The wait at the hospital wasn’t that long in actuality, but time still seemed to drag. Murray paced, nervous, while Captain Scofield sat calmly and thought.

“Wearin’ a hole in the floor ain’t gonna help your chums come out any sooner,” he said at last.

Murray stopped and looked over. “I know, but I don’t feel like just sitting. It’s too hard to stay still in a case like this.”

“I’m sure they’ll be just fine. If they’d been seriously hurt in the explosion, we probably would’ve known it long ago.” Scofield leaned back, draping one arm over the top of the wicker chair.

“And Angelo and Giovanna went to check for messages at the inn,” Murray continued. “Maybe they’ll find out something else has gone wrong.”

“That’s starting to look highly possible,” Scofield agreed. “But sit down, Chief. If we brainstorm a bit, we might be able to figure out at least some of what’s going on here.”

Curious, Murray stopped pacing and came over. “What do you mean, Captain? Do you have an idea?”

“Well, I haven’t been ponderin’ on any old random thoughts comin’ into my head,” Scofield said. “I’ve been thinking about my charters for the past week, trying to remember if any of them did anything strange.”

Murray sat down, leaning forward on the edge of the seat. “And did they?”

“Like I said on the _Arrivederci_ , I don’t recollect any of them actually doing something suspicious,” Scofield said. “But just plain strange, yeah, I can think of some that were pretty quirky. I had one couple that looked like they’d just stepped off Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. She was wearin’ a fortune in jewelry and he had a dinner jacket and top hat.”

“To go deep sea fishing?” Murray exclaimed incredulously.

“Apparently they thought it was more of a tour boat,” Scofield replied. “So I humored them and took them around part of the length of the island. They seemed to have a good time and they paid well. I didn’t think anything more about it. There’s always some odd ducks in every tourist industry.”

“I guess. But did anyone else act strange?” Murray wondered.

“There was one bloke claiming he’d never been on a boat before and he wanted me to show him everything, including the radio. But that happens every now and then and I was alright with giving him a tour. Now that I think of it, though, he certainly had the opportunity to lift my log book.”

Now Murray looked hopeful. “Do you remember what he looked like? Or his name?”

“His name was something like Tom or Tim. Don’t remember his last name. He was tall . . . light brown hair . . . probably about 18 . . . had a denim vest with a black long-sleeved shirt.” Scofield shrugged. “Not really the number-one suspect for a crime.”

“But that’s exactly why he might be a good possibility,” Murray said enthusiastically. “Maybe the criminal gang uses him because people wouldn’t suspect him.”

“That’s good thinking,” Scofield said in approval. “Too bad I don’t have his full name and we could look him up.”

“Do you remember anything else about him?” Murray asked. “How long he was going to be on Martigua, where he was staying, that kind of thing?”

“I remember he was one of my last charters before the expedition started,” Scofield said. “I think he came onboard Thursday evening. He said he’d been on vacation for the past week and he wanted to fit in a few more things before he left. I don’t believe he mentioned where he was staying. That information was probably in the file; I try to have local contact information in case there’s a problem with the payment. There wasn’t with his; he paid in cash.”

Murray sighed. “So he’s probably gone by now,” he said morosely.

“Probably,” Scofield agreed. “Unless he really is involved and he was just givin’ me a line about leaving. Maybe they’d keep him hanging around to see what was happening.”

“Somebody’s definitely hanging around the island or that customs agent wouldn’t have been hit,” Murray worried. “Maybe it’s the same person who set that explosion.”

“Could be,” Scofield said noncommittally. “It all depends on how big their operation is.”

“And we still have no idea what it is they’re trying to keep us from,” Murray bemoaned.

“That’s something we’re going to have to find out,” came Cody’s voice from the corridor.

Murray hopped up. “Cody! Nick! Are you both okay?!”

“We checked out just fine,” Cody smiled. “Any word about that customs agent?”

“None,” Scofield grunted. “We’ll have to move on and check in later.”

“Meanwhile, I had an idea,” Nick said, as they all headed for the doors. “Why not take a helicopter up past the point where the _Arrivederci_ got? Maybe whatever it is that’s not supposed to be seen is visible from the air.”

“I suppose that’s possible,” Scofield mused, not looking convinced. “But then it seems like they might try shootin’ down every aircraft that got close.”

“Maybe not, since most aircrafts wouldn’t know to look for anything,” Cody said. “It might be something that only certain people would understand.”

“Like a world-famous oceanographer,” Nick put in.

“Right,” Cody nodded.

“I think Nick’s idea is a good one,” Murray spoke up. “We should give it a try.”

Scofield looked to them. “Do what you want, but don’t come cryin’ to me if you get blown out of the sky.”

“Why don’t you come along?” Nick returned. “We’ll prove to you that we really do know what we’re doing.”

Scofield considered that. “I like to think I’m an open-minded soul. Alright, Mr. Ryder, I’ll take you up on that.”

“Good! You won’t regret it,” Nick promised.

“We hope,” Cody couldn’t help adding under his breath.

“Meanwhile, we need to start getting ready for our dinner date with Giovanna,” Murray prompted.

“Oh yeah, that’s right,” Nick mused, as though he had completely forgotten about it. From the way Cody immediately flushed, he obviously hadn’t. “We’ll stop off back at the _Arrivederci_ and freshen up before going to get her at the inn.”

“We don’t even know where we’re going to take her,” Cody exclaimed in a bit of panic.

Scofield regarded him with gentle amusement. “I can recommend some good restaurants,” he offered. “But considering Miss Guirilini knows you’re not familiar with the area, and she suggested the dinner in the first place, she might already have a suggestion in mind.”

“That’s a good point,” Cody pounced, relieved at the thought. “I should have thought of that.”

“Are you coming with us, Captain?” Murray asked.

Scofield looked to him in surprise. “I suspect Miss Guirilini’s invitation was just for you lads,” he said.

“Actually, it’s hard to know, isn’t it?” Nick realized. “We were all there when she made it. She could have meant the whole group of us, Angelo and you included.”

Now Scofield’s look of surprise was directed at Nick, in light of their prior conversation. “You sound like you’re really trying to encourage me to go, Mr. Ryder.”

“It’s not that, exactly,” Nick retorted. “It’s that when we don’t know what Giovanna intended, we don’t want to do anything to hurt her feelings. And I’m not sure she would have extended the invitation if anyone was around she didn’t want there.”

“You make a lot of sense, Mr. Ryder,” Scofield relented. “Alright, then. I’ll plan on coming along, at least long enough to try to figure out what Miss Guirilini wanted.”

“Yeah!” Murray said, perking up again. “It’ll just be a fun evening out, a way to forget our troubles for a couple of hours.”

“Hopefully our troubles will forget us,” Cody sighed.

****

As it turned out, Nick was apparently right about Giovanna’s intentions. When the Riptide detectives, plus Captain Scofield and Tony, arrived at the inn, Giovanna didn’t seem in the least taken aback.

“Oh good, you are all here,” she smiled. “How did things go at the hospital?”

“Okay,” Cody said. “Nick and I are both fine.”

“I’m so glad,” Giovanna smiled.

“And what about the man from the airport?” Angelo asked in concern.

“We called the hospital again right before we came out here,” Nick reported. “He’s still unconscious, but they think there’s a good chance he’ll make it.”

“I hope so,” Giovanna said. “He must know something that would help us.

“Well!” she continued, quickly switching the subject to something more pleasant, “I know the perfect place for us to all go to dinner. It’s a nice little place along the coast called the Tropicana.”

“That sounds like it walked right out of an _I Love Lucy_ rerun,” Nick commented.

Murray gave him a blank look. “Huh?”

“It’s an old sitcom,” Nick explained.

Amused, Giovanna said, “I’m sure it’s just coincidence.” She gestured to the doors. “Shall we go?”

“Lead on, Giovanna,” Nick said with a grand gesture in return.

****

The night was pleasant, with clear skies and a cool breeze wafting in from the ocean. And the Tropicana Restaurant was very much engrained in the culture of the island, being built to look like an elongated hut with a straw roof and featuring local tribal masks, glasses designed like pineapples, and a voodoo-inspired floorshow.

“The roof isn’t really straw,” Giovanna explained. “There’s a much more sturdy substance underneath it.”

“Well, that’s good to know,” said Cody.

“What about the voodoo show?” Nick wondered, watching as the sorcerer onstage appeared to make his subject levitate. “Is that for real?”

“That all depends on if you believe in voodoo,” Giovanna replied in some amusement.

“It looks pretty much like a classic magician’s show to me,” Nick remarked as they all settled around a table.

“They’ve borrowed a lot of their act from Western magicians,” Scofield said. “Or maybe the Western magicians borrowed it from them. Who’s to say. And some of it’s based more on the stereotypical Hollywood ideas of voodoo. They give the tourists what they expect to see, you know? But some of the rest of it, well, I can definitely tell you that’s from their own traditions here and based more on what voodoo really is.”

Cody picked up the menu, trying to concentrate. The activity onstage, however, was highly distracting. And it didn’t help that the sorcerer seemed to keep glancing in their direction more than at any other table.

“Do you get the feeling he’s really eyeing us up and down?” Cody finally said in a low tone to Nick.

“Maybe he recognizes Angelo,” Nick shrugged. “We all know he’s a celebrity.”

“Maybe,” Cody conceded. “I know I’m probably just paranoid, but after a day like today, it’s hard not to be.”

Nick nodded sympathetically. “I know the feeling.”

Eventually they all decided on their orders. The floorshow broke for intermission around the time the food arrived, which was just fine with Cody. He would much rather eat without voodoo sorcerers staring him down, no matter what their intentions were.

“So,” he said, “supposing that guy is for real. Would he be a renegade sorcerer or not?”

“They don’t tend to advertise themselves,” Scofield retorted. “You pretty much have to catch them at a secret ceremony.”

“So that’s how you saw one?” Nick pounced.

“You could say that,” Scofield replied, sounding somewhat awkward.

Giovanna turned to him in amusement. “Now how did you manage that, Captain?”

Nick stared her down. Her reaction seemed an awful lot like flirting to him. But if Cody noticed, he didn’t seem to be of the same mind.

Scofield looked pleased that she was interested. “I was taking a charter party back to the docks when this sudden storm came up. The boat crashed on the beach and some of the party ran off in terror, looking for a place to take shelter. Well, I couldn’t very well leave them to it, so I chased after them with the rest of the party. They finally led us to this hut where these mysterious torches were burning. They tried to knock, but I heard the chanting and stopped them. When we looked through the window and saw what was going on inside, I knew we shouldn’t stick around there. So we moved on and finally found a different hut to take shelter in. One of the people in the charter party wondered if the renegade priest had brought the storm up with his magic. I told her that all depended on if she believed that he _had_ magic.”

“That sounds pretty messed up,” Nick said. “Why would he start the storm?”

Scofield shrugged. “Some of the locals don’t like the tourist industry, even though Martigua practically runs on tourism. They feel like the island’s been tainted by all the foreigners coming through and that they should get back to basics. They managed just fine for centuries without the tourists, they say. And they did, but times have changed now. Most people on Martigua embrace the tourist industry and don’t want it to go away.”

“Fascinating,” Murray mused. “The classic conflict of tradition versus change. But even more interesting is what you saw that night.”

“Murray, you don’t really believe some guy chanted some stuff and caused a storm to kick up,” Nick said in disbelief.

“I believe he could have believed he caused it,” Murray replied. “It could have been a coincidence, true, but really, there’s so much we don’t know about the supernatural realm. Maybe voodoo really does work!”

“It works on a smaller scale, maybe, but only because of people’s imaginations going wild,” Nick said.

Cody nodded. “Like someone who gets hurt after a voodoo doll is used for evil. It’s mind over matter. They’re so worried about the voodoo that they inadvertently cause things to happen to them and then blame it on the voodoo.”

“Aha, but what about the people who have been hurt or killed when they don’t even believe in voodoo?” Murray pointed out. “That’s where it really gets into gray territory.”

“I heard some fake psychic in Los Angeles say once that everybody believes, even if just a little bit,” Cody said. “And I guess he’s probably right. Even if someone got hurt who didn’t believe in it, maybe they’d kind of worry and wonder why it had happened, if they knew someone was trying to use voodoo on them.”

“While this is all very interesting, I do not see how it is helping us get any closer to solving what is happening,” Angelo sighed.

“Papa is right,” Giovanna said. “Murray, did you and Captain Scofield come up with anything?”

“Well, not a whole lot,” Murray admitted. “But we did come up with one possible suspect who could have taken the log book.”

Scofield nodded and again described the boy. “Then again, even if he took it, that could be another coincidence,” he said. “It might not have anything to do with the problems on the expedition.”

“Perhaps,” Angelo said slowly, “but I believe I remember seeing a young man such as you have described.”

“That’s right,” quiet Tony spoke at last. “I remember him too. He came down to the _Arrivederci_ and asked if we had any openings on the crew. I told him No and gave him the name of a ship that I knew was trying to put together a crew. He thanked me and left.”

“And did he join the crew of that other ship?” Scofield asked.

Tony shook his head. “I spoke with the captain right before we pulled out to start our expedition. He said that no one like that had come by and that he wished they would have.”

“I didn’t think anything of it,” Angelo sighed. “I thought he was probably another fan hoping to join one of our expeditions. That happens from time to time.”

“And maybe that’s all he was,” Cody put in. “But I definitely think we should look more into that angle. Tony, did the kid give you his name?”

“No,” said Tony. “He just asked about the crew and that was that.”

“How many people are on the crew, anyway?” Nick wondered. “It’s possible that one of the bad guys snuck in and you didn’t know it. We can’t just go on the idea that maybe the kid was the one and there isn’t anyone suspicious onboard because he didn’t get in.”

Angelo’s expression clouded. “I suppose you are right, Nick the Pilot, but I hate to subject the crew to an investigation. They are all honest and hard-working, as far as I can tell.”

“But Papa, people can hide their true nature,” Giovanna protested. “We know that now, all too well.” Sadness flickered in her eyes, but then it was gone and she looked to the detectives. “You should investigate them. Everyone is required to go through a background check before joining the crew, but just because they all passed doesn’t mean they’re all our friends.”

Cody nodded grimly. “Can we get a list of all the crew members? Maybe Murray can feed it into a computer and come up with something that didn’t get into the background checks.”

“I will get you the list when we are back on the _Arrivederci_ , Cody the Mustache,” Angelo said in resignation. “But I hope you will not find anything.”

“So do I, Angelo, but it’s a possibility we really can’t ignore.” Cody chased some of the last of his delicious dish with the fork. “Have you noticed any of them acting a little strange?”

“No, not at all,” Angelo defended.

“Of course, most of them are local people and they are very superstitious,” Giovanna said.

“So they probably all believe in voodoo too, huh?” Nick said.

“Most likely,” Giovanna said. “Even some of the people who converted to Christianity years ago still cling to the old ways as well.”

Cody shook his head. “I never really understood how some people think they can have it both ways, but I guess it would be pretty hard to just forget about everything you were taught most of your life.”

“You got that right, Mr. Allen,” Scofield said. “Of course, on the other hand, some others have abandoned voodoo all the way in favor of Christianity. And still others don’t believe in anything.”

“Maybe there’s some fanatic among the crew who doesn’t think the waters around Martigua should be exploited,” Nick suggested. “What’s going wrong might not have anything to do with crooks trying to hide something.”

“Or it could be both,” Cody said. “The criminals might recruit some of the fanatics, telling them they each want something out of the deal.”

“Only the fanatics wouldn’t want the criminals to have their way, either,” Murray said. “But I guess they might pretend to go along for a while.”

“And then plan to get rid of the crooks after they all get rid of us,” Cody finished.

“Real nice people,” Nick added.

“Of course, this is all speculation,” Scofield said. “It could be that none of it’s true.”

“You’re right, Captain,” Cody acknowledged. “We’re just talking like it is.”

“That can be dangerous,” Scofield cautioned. “Be careful you don’t start believin’ in it. You might end up convicting someone without proof.”

“We’ll approach it with an open mind,” Cody promised. “We don’t want to zero in on anyone who might not be guilty.”

“Unfortunately, though, sometimes that just happens,” Nick put in. “Sometimes the people we’re looking at don’t help their cases along any, either.”

By now they were all about finished with dinner. They had become so deeply involved in the conversation that they had barely paid attention when the floorshow started up again. But just as they pushed their chairs back, the sorcerer’s voice boomed across the restaurant with words that made them all pay attention.

“For my next and most spectacular miracle yet, I will need a volunteer from the audience. Ah, you, sir!”

All eyes in the establishment immediately turned to Cody. Stunned, he looked up at the stage. The sorcerer was indeed pointing at him. “Me?” he said in disbelief. “Wait a minute, I didn’t . . .”

“Yes, _you,_ Mr. Allen!”

That startled Cody into acceptance.

“How did he know your name, Cody?!” Murray exclaimed.

Cody started to get up from his chair. “That’s what I’m going to find out.”

Nick started to stand as well. “Hey, maybe this isn’t a good idea,” he protested. “You don’t know what this guy wants you to do. Maybe he’s gonna roast you alive or something.”

Cody shot him a look of amusement. “What, are you saying you believe in voodoo? Come on, I have to go up now. Anyway, if I don’t, it’ll make a scene.” He pushed the chair back and stepped away from the table.

“I still don’t like this,” Nick said, following Cody to the next table. But then, seeing he couldn’t stop his friend, he decided instead that he would try sneaking backstage.

“Nick!” Giovanna hissed when Nick changed directions. “What are you doing?!”

Scofield just folded his arms and smirked. “Well, he’s got spunk, I’ll give him that.”

As Cody arrived onstage, the sorcerer grabbed his wrist and raised his arm in the air. “Mr. Cody Allen, my temporary assistant!” he announced, to widespread applause in the audience.

Turning, he started to lead Cody to a box standing upright on the floor. When he opened the door to usher Cody inside, he whispered, “Meet me backstage after the show. I must speak with you about the _Arrivederci_ and Captain Jack Scofield.”

Before Cody could reply, he was pushed inside and the door slammed shut.


	5. Chapter 5

Cody wasn’t sure at what point he was supposed to go through the box’s trapdoor. But when he heard crackling outside and realized that it had just been set on fire, he wasn’t staying whether it was time or not.

A catch clicked on the floor and he pushed with his foot, opening the secret door. He plunged through, landing on a mattress below stage.

“Cody! What the heck?!”

He looked up with a start. Nick was running down a short staircase, staring at him. He rushed over, in full protective mode. “Are you okay?!”

“Yeah,” Cody retorted. “But who knows what I’d be like if I was still up there. He’s burning the box!”

“This place is nuts!” Nick exclaimed.

Cody climbed off the mattress, not really surprised that Nick had come looking for him. “What’s down here?” he asked, figuring Nick had seen some of it.

“All kinds of creepy stuff,” Nick shuddered. “Both down here and backstage. It looks like an occult shop!”

“Murray would be fascinated,” Cody muttered.

“Ah, here you are,” a deep voice boomed.

Both men jumped a mile. The voodoo magician was on the stairs now, looking down at them.

“It sounds like they like me,” Cody remarked, suddenly aware of thunderous applause up above. “Or at least, they like seeing me roast.”

“The burning box is always my finale,” the magician said as he came down the steps. “It’s a big crowd-pleaser.”

“So what now?” Cody asked. “Do I go up and show them I’m okay?”

“Not as part of the show.” Now the man seemed nervous. He started to pace the floor in front of the stairs.

Cody and Nick exchanged a look. “Well, you said you wanted to talk to me,” Cody said carefully. “You can talk in front of Nick.”

The magician nodded. “I know.”

Nick shifted. “So . . . what else do you know? Anything that will help us?”

“I know you are all in great danger.” The magician turned to face them head-on, his dark eyes piercing and fearful.

“What about Captain Scofield?” Cody wanted to know.

“He has been in these islands for many years. He has always been very fair and open-minded about the people and our culture. But now that he is so closely associated with you, he may die. We do not want that.”

“Neither do we,” Cody frowned. “So who’s after us?”

“Watchers.” The man looked about furtively, as though expecting the Watchers to be observing them right then.

“What’s that?” Nick said in bewilderment. “Some kind of ghost?”

“Protective spirits, looking out for this part of the ocean.”

“And did these protective spirits bring a boat out and put explosives in the water under it?” Cody retorted.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever heard of a ghost doing that,” Nick declared.

“There are living people who listen to the Watchers and do their bidding.” The magician spoke sincerely, clearly believing everything he was saying.

“Well, it’s the living people we’re more concerned about,” Cody said. “Do you know who they are?”

“I do not.” The man shook his head. “But they are obviously very susceptible to the voices of the Watchers.”

"Okay then," Cody said slowly. "We'll be careful. Thanks for the warning." He paused. "Is there anything else you can tell us?"

The magician looked all the more nervous. "Last night I overheard two men talking at a table near the stage. They were discussing what to do about the Guirilini expedition. One man wanted to set a bomb on the ship. The other man said someone had already tried that and failed on a prior expedition and something else should be done this time."

Now Cody and Nick were both highly interested. "Did you see what these men looked like?" Nick asked hopefully.

"Both were foreigners, like yourselves," was the reply. "The first man had dark hair and a long, jagged scar on his right cheek. The second man had even darker hair. He looked like his nose had been broken without it healing right."

"It shouldn't be too hard to find them," Cody said hopefully. "This isn't a big island."

The magician nodded. "They also discussed what to do about the man who spies for Captain Scofield. They seemed to feel that he was a danger to them."

"Did they talk about killing him?" Nick pounced.

"Not in so many words, but that was certainly what was implied by 'fix him for good so he can't spy again.'" The man looked upset. "I tried to warn him, but I don't think he believed me."

"He should have," Nick frowned. "He was run down tonight."

"Oh no." The magician was further distressed. "Is he dead?"

"We'd have to call the hospital again to see," Nick said. "It didn't look good."

Cody shot him a puzzled look, but Nick didn't respond.

"Cody? Nick?" came Murray's equally puzzled voice from the top of the stairs.

The magician stiffened. "I must go. Our enemies can't know we spoke." Before anyone could reply, he had vanished into the shadows.

Nick placed his hands on his hips. "Well, that was weird," he said in irritation.

"Speaking of weird, Nick," Cody began, but didn't get any further when Murray came clattering down the stairs, followed by the others.

"Guys, what's going on down here?" Murray exclaimed.

"Let's talk about it outside," Nick said immediately. "Okay, Murray?"

"Well, sure," Murray blinked. "But hey, Cody, that was some trick!"

"Yeah?" Cody shuddered. "I'm glad you enjoyed it, because it's the only time you'll ever see it."

The group walked back upstairs and quietly left through a side door. Outside in the Caribbean night, Giovanna turned to look at them. "Alright, now what happened?" she demanded. "We thought you'd come right back up, Cody. When you didn't, we didn't know what to think! Murray thought maybe the performer had kidnapped you and Nick!"

"No, but he wanted to talk to us," Cody said, "and boy, did he have some interesting things to say." He started to walk along the pier, the others hurrying after him.

"He heard a couple of people talking about the expedition," Nick supplied. "Now we have descriptions on them." He looked to Angelo. "Have you seen anyone hanging around with a big scar or a broken nose?"

Angelo looked surprised. "No, Nick the Pilot. No one."

"Wait a minute," Tony interjected. "I think I saw someone with a broken nose right before we left to start the expedition. He was examining the _Arrivederci_. When I asked if I could help him, he said No and went away. He was very rude about it."

"Well, that fits," Nick nodded. "This magician also heard these guys talking about 'fixing' your friend at the airport, Captain Scofield. He tried to warn the guy, but he didn't believe it."

"Really now." Scofield frowned. "I'd think he'd put more stock in something like that."

"After the way he ran from us in the hospital, I'd think so too," Cody said. He stiffened. "Is that why you didn't want to say he's probably going to be okay, because the story doesn't ring true?"

Nick nodded. "Something's fishy about it. And not just that, but it was only today when Captain Scofield asked the guy to help out. Why would people be plotting to kill him last night?"

"Good call," Scofield said. "People on the island know I use him to get information, but plotting to kill him before I've even asked doesn't make much sense."

"Right," said Nick. "So I just have to wonder if this magician guy is really on our side. What if he never really warned the Customs agent? There's only his word on that as long as the victim is unconscious. Or if he dies."

"But if he's not on our side, why would he give you that important information about those other guys?" Murray frowned.

"He might slip a little bit of truth in with a lot of lies to try to make himself look good and get us to believe him," Cody said.

"Or maybe the whole thing is a bunch of red herrings," Nick added. "But we should try focusing on the idea that we need to find those guys, just in case it's on the level."

"Then that is what we will do," Angelo determined.

"I know some people who might have seen characters like that," Scofield volunteered. "But I'm not sure you should get your hopes up. There's a lot of characters on this island. There might be several that fit the descriptions you were given."

"Well, it won't hurt to try, anyway," Cody insisted.

"And that's what I'll do," Scofield promised. "After I check in at the hospital again. I should probably go alone, though; the natives know and trust me. They don't know any of you. And most of them are superstitious and probably believe our expedition is cursed."

"We understand," Cody said with a wave of his hand. "We'll keep out of it. We'll ask around other places for them."

"And we should keep looking for that Tom or Tim kid too," Nick reminded.

"And if I can get that list of the crew, Tony and I can start running it through the computer," Murray piped up.

"I will get it for you when we go back to the _Arrivederci_ , Bozin the Doctor," Angelo sighed heavily, "but I hope you will not find anything that points to any of them."

"I know, but we still have to check all angles, Angelo," Murray said.

"I'll agree with that," Scofield grunted.

Cody started to turn away but paused. "By the way, that magician was also saying strange stuff about ghosts called 'Watchers.' Do you know anything about those?"

Scofield nodded. "The protector spirits of the island. It's mostly the anti-tourist fanatics that talk about them these days, although in the past it was just part of the local tradition."

Murray perked up, as Cody had known he would. "I'd like to hear more about that," he declared.

Scofield shrugged. "Not a lot to tell, Chief. The idea is that they're probably the first settlers on the island. They loved it so much that they requested being named Martigua's guardian angels when they died. It might be just a legend, but then again it might not. There's been a lot of strange sightings of them through the centuries, according to the natives. They usually show up to help people in trouble, but they can also be avengers if they think the island's in danger."

"That sounds familiar," Nick quipped.

Murray nodded. "There's similar stories in many cultures around the world, but it's always fascinating to hear new variations." He paused as something suddenly occurred to him. "Wait a minute. That magician wasn't saying that a Watcher set off that bomb, was he?"

"No; apparently living people help the Watchers out sometimes," Cody said easily.

"It sounds like the kind of stuff you tell kids if you want them to be good," said Nick.

"Maybe," Scofield lazily agreed, "but you'll never convince the natives of that. And it's probably better not to try. Just live and let live." He moved to leave. "Anyway, we'd best go about our separate tasks and see what we come up with."

Nick nodded. "We'll meet back on the _Arrivederci_."

****

When Scofield arrived back at the hospital, he learned that the Customs agent was awake and could have a visit, at least for a few minutes. So, promising not to be longer than that, he headed down the corridor and to the right room.

"Well, hello, Bill," he greeted as he pushed open the door and walked in. "How are you feeling?"

"Not bad, considering," Bill mumbled.

"You're lucky to be alive," Scofield commented, letting the door slip shut behind him while he walked over to the bed. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I was just leaving the airport when a car came at me," Bill replied. "I tried to outrun it, but it hit me anyway."

Scofield frowned, taking up the chair next to the bed. "I have to admit that I feel somewhat responsible," he said. "Did you find out anything today?"

"Not much, but apparently still too much by their standards." Bill looked to Scofield. "When I tried to find out who would want to sabotage your expedition, I was given the name Claw."

"Claw, huh?" Scofield paused to think about that. "I'm guessing that isn't the bloke bent on world domination that works for one of those international organizations of evil."

"No. He's a mysterious criminal operating in the Caribbean," Bill told him. "He's mainly suspected of smuggling."

Scofield frowned. "Well, that's not encouraging. The trouble we're having is in the middle of the ocean, though; it's not close to shore like last time. What kind of smuggling could he be doing out there with nothing else around?"

"I don't know. There have been rumors that most of his drops are made at night on the water, as other boats and ships pass his. One of them always belongs to someone else in the smuggling ring."

"Well, that's interesting," Scofield mused. "Maybe we're getting too close to one of his key drop areas."

"I'm sorry I couldn't learn more," Bill said.

"You did fine." Scofield started to get up. "Just concentrate on getting well. Oh, but we might have to pretend like you're not getting well for a while, just to protect you in case Claw's goons or whoever else wants to come finish the job."

"That's fine with me," Bill exclaimed. "Just keep me from getting killed."

"We'll be doing our best," Scofield vowed. "We owe it to you." He paused. "By the way, did somebody try to warn you that you were in danger?"

"No, man," Bill frowned in bewilderment. "If they had, maybe I wouldn't be in the hospital now."

"Yeah, maybe not," Scofield agreed. "Alright, I'll let you rest." With that he headed out.

And nearly collided with Murray coming down the corridor.

"Oh! Gosh, I'm sorry, Captain," Murray exclaimed.

"Nevermind. What are you doing here in the first place?" Scofield exclaimed. "I thought you were supposed to be running that list of crew members through the computer."

"Well . . ." Murray hesitated. "There's been another problem."

"Oh no. Like maybe the list has up and gone to join its lost friends the log books and my records from last week?" Scofield groaned.

Murray nodded. "When we got back to the _Arrivederci_ , Angelo couldn't find it anywhere. He and Giovanna and Tony are looking now in case it just got misplaced, but we all really figure it was deliberately taken."

"And it probably was," Scofield said in chagrin. "But that means there might be a connection between all the missing items."

"Like one name that's on all three things?" Murray suggested.

"Right, Chief. Or it could be different information on each thing. We'll have to all get together and brainstorm about the contents." Scofield's hands went to his hips. "But did you come here just to tell me about this?"

Murray shifted. "I know what you said and all about going alone, but I wondered if maybe I could come along when you talk to your friends about those people in the Tropicana?" he asked hopefully. "I'd like to ask them more about what they think the Watchers might do."

Scofield was amused. "I don't think there's much more to tell than what I said. But they'd probably talk to you about that subject, if only because they're likely convinced that you'll bring down the Watchers' wrath on you. Alright, Chief. Come on." He walked past Murray and headed for the door.

"Great!" Murray chirped, hurrying to keep up.

"I'm thinking of reporting to the police about the break-in first, though," Scofield added over his shoulder. "They probably won't be able to do much, but I'd feel better letting them know."

"That's fine," Murray said. "They really should know. We always like to cooperate with the police whenever we can."

"Same here, Chief. The only problem is that the character we tangled with before was the most powerful bloke on the island and a lot of the public officials, including the police, were really working for him."

"Well, that's not good," Murray frowned. "But that's changed now, hasn't it?"

"I hope so." Scofield stepped through the doors and into the calm night. "New people were elected who promised to weed out the corruption in the public offices."

"I guess Nick and Cody would say that there's still some level of corruption when you can get people like that Customs guy to fill you in on things," Murray remarked.

"Keepin' an eye out on somebody ain't the same thing as working for a smuggler and murderer," Scofield replied. "I already had this discussion with Mr. Allen and Mr. Ryder. They're just sore because they were the ones being watched. They admitted that they've done the exact same thing, paying out a few bucks to get a little under the table help from people that otherwise probably wouldn't do it."

"Yeah, they have," Murray slowly agreed.

"Anyway, the point is that I don't know what the state of the police department is right now, but hopefully it's better than it was before," Scofield said. "In any case, the main reason I want to report the break-in and theft is so they can't accuse me of helpin' the crooks out in any way by not reporting a felony."

"That makes sense," Murray said. "Yeah, it's always good to stay on the police's good side, if you can."

"Right you are, Chief," said Scofield.

"Oh," Murray said suddenly. "The nurse at the desk said your friend was awake. Did he tell you anything helpful?"

"Well, he says no one warned him he was in danger," Scofield mused. "I'd say that means we can't really trust anything that magician told us."

Murray's eyes widened. "Definitely not!" he exclaimed. "Maybe we should go back and talk to him again right now."

Scofield checked his watch. "He does two shows each evening: the dinner show and one around eleven P.M. When it's closer to the time, we'll head on over there. I'd like to talk to him myself."

****

Three hours later, Cody and Nick were exhausted. They had traveled from one end of the island to the other, chasing down people and places that they had been advised could assist them with their questions.

"You know, this is ridiculous," Cody griped. "We've been given the run-around for hours and we've barely learned anything worth learning. I can't tell whether they do this to all visitors asking questions or if we're special cases because we're part of Angelo's expedition now."

"Here's a question," Nick said suddenly. "How would the whole island know we're part of his expedition? We just got here today and we haven't been advertising it."

"It only takes one gossip to spread the word," Cody retorted. "The people at the airport saw us, including Scofield's friend. The driver of the cab saw us. People in the Tropicana saw us. It's not that far-fetched that by now the whole island could know."

"That's true," Nick agreed. "I'm just wondering if there's something more to it."

"Like what?" Cody said in exasperation. "You're not going to say you suspect Scofield of spreading the word around, are you?"

"No, I'm not," Nick insisted. "I don't think he'd do that. But what if when the rest of the crew left today, one or more of them decided to let it be known that we were coming to help out?"

Cody frowned. "That's possible," he realized. "Some of them probably knew about it after Giovanna radioed us last night."

Nick nodded. "I sure hope Murray and Tony are successfully running that list through the computer. Oh look, here we are." He stopped in front of a shack. "Dr. Diamond's Cures For What Ails You."

"Well, that sounds promising," Cody said uncertainly.

"I wonder if he'll recommend we drink the Eye of Newt or the Lizard Legs," Nick cracked.

"He's supposed to be an herbalist," Cody said, shushing Nick before pushing open the door.

Whatever they were expecting, the little darkened shop delivered. Candles burned along with incense, sending ominous wisps of smoke curlicuing through the air. Some candles, Cody noted as his skin crawled, had been placed in skulls. Voodoo dolls were everywhere, along with shelves and shelves of dark and mysterious bottles.

"It's just a tourist trap," Nick muttered to Cody, even though he looked uneasy too. "You know, like what Scofield said about giving them what they expect to see?"

"Yeah," Cody said slowly. "A tourist trap. And if I really believed in this stuff, I'd be imagining us being trapped into toads or crows about now."

"Good evening, Gentlemen," a deep voice rumbled from the back of the shop.

Both Cody and Nick jumped. "Uh . . . hi," they echoed, and stammered over each other's words of greeting and explanation until they both came to the conclusion that only one of them needed to speak at once.

"We were told you might be able to help us find a couple of people we're looking for on the island," Cody said.

"Ah yes." Dr. Diamond stood, reaching for a diamond-shaped object on a shelf. "And who is it you are seeking?"

Cody and Nick exchanged an uneasy look. "Well, I don't think you'll need to divine their location or anything like that," Nick said.

"We're hoping to find a guy with a long, jagged scar on his right cheek and another guy with a broken nose," Cody said. "They both have dark hair."

"And we're also looking for a young kid about eighteen with lighter hair and a dark vest," said Nick.

"No, it was a denim vest and a black shirt," Cody said.

"And his name's Tom or Tim," Nick added. "We don't know the other guys' names, but they were at the Tropicana last night."

"I see." Dr. Diamond didn't sound surprised. "And what is it you wish to see them about?"

"The older guys were plotting to hurt our friends," Nick said. "We'd like to know why."

"Tom or Tim might be involved, but we're not sure," said Cody. "He could just be an innocent bystander."

"Well, you are right, Gentlemen," Dr. Diamond said as he replaced the divining object on the shelf. "I won't need the assistance of voodoo magic to help you with that task. I will, however, require something for my services."

"Money, right?" said Nick. "Show him what we can pay him," he encouraged Cody.

"Oh no, not money," Dr. Diamond grinned even as Cody reached for his wallet.

"What, then?" Cody asked, suddenly wary again.

"Not much, really. Just several locks of your hair and a couple of small scraps of an article of clothing."

Now Nick was unsettled again as well. "It sounds like you're planning to make voodoo dolls of us or something," he said. He took a step back. "No deal."

"But you don't even believe in voodoo," said Dr. Diamond. "What would it hurt?"

"Hey, I'm not taking any chances." Nick grabbed Cody's arm. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Dr. Diamond suddenly threw back his head and laughed. "You are so easily fooled! Nevermind the voodoo hocus-pocus. It's just a joke. But you were real scared, huh?" Nick and Cody looked embarrassed. "Yes, I'll accept your money."

"Oh. Well, good," Cody stammered, thrusting a bill at him and wanting to get out of here as soon as possible. "Now what can you tell us?"

Dr. Diamond accepted the bill most agreeably. "I have not seen the boy you mentioned, but the other two sound like crew members on _The Saint's Boodle_ , a ship down at the docks."

"Thanks," Cody breathed, shoving the rest of his money back in his wallet.

"That's a weird name for a ship," said Nick.

"It's a tongue-in-cheek name," Dr. Diamond replied. "It's a reference to the vigilante The Saint, but the owner of the ship seeks to do anything _but_ good."

"Somehow I don't think Simon Templar would like that very much," said Cody.

"Who owns the ship?" Nick asked, not really caring what Simon Templar would like or not like.

"Around here," Dr. Diamond smiled eerily amid the candlelight and incense, "we call him Claw."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went back and added a few lines at two places in the middle scene of chapter 5, as I remembered to my chagrin that I hadn't had Captain Scofield ask the Customs agent if anyone called to warn him of danger.

Scofield was right about the local police not really being able to offer much help regarding the break-in at his office. They asked standard questions and took notes and dusted for fingerprints, but they were at a loss. Still, as they left they promised they would do what they could.

"Translation: they'll interview people around here and find out if anyone saw anything, which no one probably did," Scofield grunted.

Murray sat on the edge of the desk. "It's too bad they didn't find any fingerprints, but I guess we should've expected that."

Scofield shrugged. "There was always the chance the thief was an amateur idiot. We had to make sure regardless."

"Yeah." Murray reached for the phone. "Is it okay if I use your phone? I should probably call the _Arrivederci_ and find out if anyone's found the crew list. And update them on our plans. You know, just in case something goes wrong, we'll know that someone knows where we were going."

"Good thinking, Chief," Scofield nodded. "You go ahead." He crossed the room and leaned on the old, green filing cabinet.

Within minutes Murray was connected with the _Arrivederci_ 's radio and was talking with Giovanna on Speakerphone about the latest developments. The news was not good.

"I am sorry, Murray, but Papa and Tony and I have been all over the ship and we haven't found any trace of the crew list," Giovanna sighed.

"Oh," Murray frowned. "That's not good."

"What's happening there?" Giovanna asked. "Have you and Captain Scofield had any better luck?"

"Well, the police were just checking out Captain Scofield's office about the break-in, but no one found any clues," Murray reported. "The thief didn't leave fingerprints."

"That would have been too much to hope for," Giovanna said in resignation.

"Yeah. We're going to leave now and talk to some of Captain Scofield's friends about those guys we're looking for," Murray said. "Then we're going back to the Tropicana to talk to that magician. The Customs agent is awake and he told Captain Scofield that no one warned him about him being in any danger."

"Alright," Giovanna consented. "But please be careful, both of you. We don't need any more accidents."

"You've got that right," Scofield muttered.

"We'll be careful, Giovanna," Murray assured her.

Scofield pushed away from the filing cabinet and headed for the door as Murray hung up. As he glanced back, he noticed that Murray seemed to be in a much better mood. "What's got you in high spirits, Chief?" he wondered. "It seems to me that our situation keeps getting worse and worse."

"That's true," Murray said. "But I was thinking what a nice girl Giovanna is." He slid off the desk and followed Scofield to the door.

"She is that," Scofield agreed. "She told me you've known the family the longest?"

"That's right," Murray nodded. "I've been a friend of the family for years. I introduced Cody and Nick to them a couple of years ago."

"And Mr. Allen seems to have had a thing for Miss Guirilini since then," Scofield remarked. "Does he ever plan to actually do anything about it?"

"Gee, I don't know," Murray frowned in confusion as they stepped outside. "I don't think I've ever thought about it. I know he was trying really hard to learn Italian for a while because he thought it would impress her, but he kind of gave that up after the first mystery we solved for them. I'm not sure why."

"Maybe he realized that just bein' himself would impress her more," Scofield suggested. "Only he ain't done much with that approach either."

"Well, the second time he met her, she was engaged to Guido," Murray said slowly. "And then after what happened with him, Cody probably figured that Giovanna needed time and space to recover and he didn't want to look like he was trying to push her into anything."

"He could make a move this time if he really plans on doing it at all," Scofield mused. "Or maybe he really figures he wouldn't have a chance with her?"

"Oh, I don't think he'd think that," Murray exclaimed. "Giovanna's a very sweet, accepting person. And she already cares about Cody a lot as a friend."

Scofield nodded. "She'd probably be touched if he did try to make his move," he said. "But maybe she doesn't think of him as anything other than a friend?"

"I don't know that either," Murray realized. "Why are you asking, Captain?"

"Just wondering, Chief," Scofield said as he walked out ahead. "That's all. Just wondering."

****

At the other side of the dock, Cody and Nick were just arriving and wandering down the pier, looking at the names on every boat. It was dark and eerie so late at night, the boats casting ominous shapes against the sky. The only light aside from the stars were the tiny circles of flashlights.

"We're gonna look like a couple of jerks if we're caught out here," Nick muttered, checking the name on another boat.

Cody sighed in frustration. "Do you want to leave?"

"No, I don't want to leave," Nick retorted. "Not until we've found this _Saint's Poodle_ or whatever."

" _Boodle_!" Cody shot back.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Suddenly a flashlight was shining right in their eyes. "What are you two doing here?" a low and gravelly voice growled. "You're trespassing."

Cody and Nick held up their hands to shield their eyes from the glow. "It's a public dock," Cody frowned.

"Didn't your mama ever tell you not to point flashlights at people?" Nick added.

The light was withdrawn. "You're not just taking a casual stroll," the mysterious man said. "You're looking for something. What?"

"A boat," Nick said.

Cody nodded. "A boat called _The Saint's Boodle_. Do you know it?"

"Sure, I know it," the newcomer growled. "I crew for it."

Nick abruptly shined his flashlight at the man without warning, long enough to see the clearly broken nose. "Great," he said. "And you look like one of the crewmembers we were looking for." Immediately he and Cody grabbed each arm.

"Here now! What is this?!" Broken Nose snarled, fighting against their grasp.

"Why were you plotting to hurt the Guirilinis in the Tropicana?" Cody demanded.

"What? I wasn't!" Broken Nose snapped.

"Someone heard you and your friend with the long scar making plans to get rid of them and a Customs agent at the airport," Nick said. "So why don't we cut out all the 'I'm innocent' junk and get to the juicy stuff?"

Broken Nose scowled. "It's just my word against whoever claims otherwise," he said, "and I'm not backing down. My friend will say the same thing."

"Maybe," Cody said slowly, "or maybe at least one of you really won't like the idea of jailtime for conspiracy to commit murder. You don't really know how many people heard you talking. Maybe it wasn't just one person."

Broken Nose's eyes flickered, but he still refused to back down. "Prove it," he insisted.

"Alright," Cody said without fear. "We'll prove it." He released Broken Nose's arm. "You just be sure to bring your friend."

"Where is he, anyway?" Nick queried.

"He's on the ship right here," was the reply.

"Call him," Nick ordered. "We're all gonna head down to the Tropicana and see what we find out."

Broken Nose actually looked scared. But he raised his voice and gruffly called, "Chuck!"

After a moment a man with a jagged scar on his right cheek came up from the cabin and stared at the scene. "Marco? What is this?! The boss isn't gonna . . ."

"These guys claim they heard us planning murders last night," Broken Nose, a.k.a. Marco, said with some urgency.

Chuck folded his arms, noticeably unconcerned. "So?"

"So, speaking of your boss, that's The Claw, right?" said Cody.

Marco blanched. "That's only a rumor," he insisted.

"One that you'd better not spread around as the truth," Chuck growled, leaning forward with both hands on the metal railing of the boat. "You know how we got as messed-up as we look?"

"Probably by showing what for to people you hated," Nick said.

Chuck nodded. "Not to be cliche, but you should see the other guys." He sneered. "You wouldn't want to end up like them."

Cody frowned. "All we want is for you to come with us to the Tropicana and hear what our witnesses have to say in the presence of the police," he said.

"Ha! They won't say a word against us publicly," Chuck retorted.

"And why is that?" Nick pounced. "Are they scared of your boss?"

"They wouldn't want to make him mad. And I think you'd better let go of Marco." Chuck suddenly leaned over the railing. Flipping open a knife, he grabbed Cody by the hair and held the knife to his throat.

Cody gasped. "I think you'd better do what he says," he exclaimed to Nick.

Nick was of the same mind. He released Marco, almost pushing him in the act of it, and looked to Chuck with fire in his eyes. "Okay. Let him go," he ordered.

Chuck did, flinging Cody away with the same type of gesture. "Bring your proof to us," he said darkly. "We'll see just how good it is." With that he turned, going back down the steps into the cabin.

Sneering at the duo, Marco straightened his shirt and followed.

Cody blew out his breath in frustration. "That went well." He brushed his hair back into relative place, highly disturbed by what had just happened.

"Are you okay?" Nick asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," Cody insisted, "but I could have easily enough not been fine! That guy meant business!"

"Yeah, well, let's go to the Tropicana and see if we can get that magician guy to come back with us," Nick said. "And if anyone else could have heard what he heard. Maybe his assistant or something."

"I don't think he'll set foot near this boat," Cody objected. "He ran away from us in the Tropicana because he didn't want these people to know he talked to us."

"Maybe there's something else he can tell us," Nick mused. "I've been thinking about how that spear disappeared on the _Arrivederci_ and freaked everybody out. Objects disappearing is a favorite trick of magicians."

That perked Cody up. "You think maybe the guy from the Tropicana is actually in on things?"

"Maybe kind of reluctantly or something, but yeah, it'd make sense," Nick said. "Either that or he knows a magician who might be in on things. Murray can play with his equipment all he likes, but I'm not convinced there's anything supernatural going on."

"Well, I'm not either, but I didn't even think of sleight of hand," Cody said. "Usually when something disappears, it's through a trapdoor."

"That doesn't mean there aren't other ways," Nick replied. "Come on, let's get down there and see what he has to say."

Cody was willing. He hurried over to Nick and they started back up the pier.

"You're sure you're okay?" Nick demanded.

"Yes!" Cody exclaimed. "The knife never touched me."

"Okay, okay." Nick threw up his hands. "I'm just worried."

"I know," Cody said, softening his voice. "And I appreciate it. But there's no need to worry."

"Oh, there's plenty of need, Pal," Nick muttered. "We just keep getting more reasons for it all the time."

Cody had to admit, he couldn't deny that.

****

Murray looked around the tropical paradise, fascinated and intrigued as he walked with Captain Scofield down a narrow sidestreet and into the hanging leaves of a palm tree. "This area doesn't seem as modernized as the main part of the city," he remarked, grabbing onto his glasses so the tree couldn't take them off his face.

Scofield gave a crooked smile. "It's not. The natives who don't want modernization are just fine with that. So are a lot of the tourists."

"I'm all for modernization," Murray said, "but I also like seeing the island in all its original, primitive glory. I hope there will always be both kinds of places."

"I'm sure that as long as certain people have something to say about it, there will be," Scofield replied.

"How far is it to your friend's home?" Murray asked.

"Not far now," Scofield said over his shoulder. "That's it right up there, the only house with a light on this street."

"Everyone else is in bed?" Murray blinked.

"Some of them are. Some of them might be out partying or gettin' their ships ready for goin' out tomorrow." Scofield walked expertly down the path, never looking for palm trees or rocks or anything else that might be in his way. He had walked this street many times before.

Murray trailed after him, all the way to the sole house with a light. He stood by, eager and hopeful, as Scofield knocked and as the occupant could be heard shuffling to the door. When he opened it, looking wary and tough due to the late hour, his countenance swiftly changed when he saw who was there. "Jack!" he exclaimed.

Scofield grinned. "How are you, Frederick? It's been a while."

"You bet it has!" Frederick opened the door wide. "Come in!"

Scofield obliged, shooting a thumb over his shoulder at Murray as he went. "And this is Dr. Murray Bozinsky," he said. "He's . . . studying the local legends and customs, especially everything to do with spooks and Watchers. He's hoping you can tell him something."

"If it's no trouble, of course," Murray said. "I really am fascinated by other cultures and their belief systems."

Frederick looked hesitant for a moment, but then he smiled again and gestured inside. "Well, why not. If he's your friend, Jack, he can't be bad."

Murray beamed. "Thank you, Sir!" He also stepped into the room.

Frederick pulled the door shut behind him and then leaned on it, his hands behind his back and gripping the knob. "So what brings you here, Jack?" he wondered. "Is it really just to let your friend get a history lesson? There's better times of the day for that."

"That there are, Fred," Scofield replied, stroking his chin. "No, the main reason we stopped off here is that we're wondering what you might be able to tell us about a couple of men who were hanging out together last night at the Tropicana. One of them has a nasty old scar on his right cheek. The other one's suffering from a broken nose. Wouldn't be surprised if both of 'em deserve their afflictions, though."

"Neither would I," Fred said flatly. "They sound like a couple of the crewmembers of The Saint's Boodle, a ship in the Islands that's owned by The Claw."

"I've seen that ship around," Scofield acknowledged. "Usually at other islands, sometimes here. Always figured it meant trouble. I try to stay away from it."

"The Claw?" Murray looked confused. "What's that? Or I guess I should say, who's that?"

"Not someone to tangle with, my young friend," Frederick grimly intoned. "Anyone who knows of him does well to stay away from him."

"I heard he's a smuggler," Scofield said.

"And most likely much worse," said Frederick. "His home base is supposed to be on one of the other islands, but he comes here at times to pick up new shipments or crewmembers. If his crew is here, the ship is probably tied up at the dock. But I wouldn't recommend looking for it." He gave Scofield a strange look. "What in Heaven's name brought you into contact with the likes of them?"

"They're trying to find ways to kill our friends," Murray blurted.

"We're, uh, both with the Guirilini expedition," Scofield added. "That ends up making us targets as well."

"It would," Frederick frowned. "If The Claw wants the Guirilinis out of these waters, it must be that they are inadvertently interfering with his criminal plans."

"That's what I'd think," Scofield said. "He isn't one of those who doesn't want Martigua to see progress, is he?"

"I don't know," Frederick admitted. "Less modernizing might or might not help him do as much as he is doing now. There are many tourists who prefer things being the old way. And more modernizing might not necessarily help him with his work. Smugglers operated successfully for centuries without modern technology."

"That's true," Murray agreed. "Oh, and this sorcerer we were talking to said something about the Watchers, the protectors of the island. Do you know anything more about them?"

"Every native Martiguan knows the legends," Frederick replied. "And quite a few have claimed to have actually seen the Watchers."

"Have you?" Murray pounced.

"I've seen some strange things," Frederick mused. "And I've seen things that could have been the Watchers. But not every unexplainable event is caused by the Watchers."

"That's a very objective attitude," Murray proclaimed.

Frederick shrugged. "Some of my own people don't like me looking at things that way. They say I'm ignoring the Watchers' constant roles in our lives. I believe in the Watchers, but that doesn't mean I believe every story anyone tells about them being around."

"Do you think the Watchers might be trying to stop our expedition?" Murray asked.

"That's always possible, I suppose," Frederick said, "but then I'd have to wonder why they did nothing to stop Mr. Hawking when he controlled much of Martigua and used it for his own selfish and illegal purposes."

"That's a fair question," said Murray. "What do the other believers say?"

"Usually they say that the Watchers attack in their own time," said Frederick.

"So they'd attack Angelo before they'd attack Mr. Hawking?" Murray blinked. "Something about that doesn't sound right."

"You'll find contradictions like that in every culture and every belief system," Scofield broke in.

"I guess that's true," Murray conceded slowly. Deciding to abandon that line of discussion, he said, "I'm hoping to gather evidence of the presence of Watchers or other spirits on Angelo's ship."

"Good luck with that," Frederick said in a bit of amusement. "Spirits tend to only let themselves be seen and heard when they want to be. And then there's the living people who pretend to be spirits for whatever reason."

"That might be what we have here," Murray admitted. "At least we know it was living people who tried to kill Cody and Nick with an explosion today. But that doesn't mean the ghosts couldn't be involved too."

"No, it doesn't," Frederick said. "But there was an explosion?" He looked sharply to Scofield, who nodded. "Then you had all better be very careful."

"Oh, we intend on that," Scofield declared.

"And hopefully we'll have this mystery solved soon," Murray said.

"It sounds to me like you're just getting started," said Frederick.

"We are, pretty much," said Scofield. "We're also looking for a boy of about eighteen with a denim vest and a black shirt. Calls himself Tom or Tim."

"I can't help you there," Frederick said, shaking his head.

"He might not be a part of this," Murray quickly said. "But then again, he might be."

"Good luck finding him, whichever the case may be," Frederick said. "I'm afraid this is the extent of the help I can give you."

"That's alright, Fred," Scofield said agreeably. "You gave us some good information. I'll come by soon just to visit."

"You do that, Jack," said Frederick. "I'll be here, like always."

Murray was pleased as they left the house moments later. "That went really well," he said cheerfully.

"Yeah, well, don't expect it to always be that easy, Chief," Scofield replied. "These people are generally polite and kind to everyone, but the other friends I've got with juicy information wouldn't be so willing to tell anything they've got to a stranger. I decided on coming here first since Fred's always been an agreeable sort."

"It must have taken you a long time to gain these people's trust," Murray said admiringly.

"It did," Scofield agreed. "But I've made some lasting friendships because I had the patience to hold out and wait for them to warm up to me."

"And that's worth more than any information," Murray declared.

"That it is." Scofield glanced around the darkened area. "Well, since we're not near the docks and we've learned a juicy piece of information, I'd say we should go find a telephone and contact the _Arrivederci_. It's almost eleven anyway; we should be headin' for the Tropicana to find that magician."

"Oh yeah!" Murray perked up. "Let's do that. I'd like to hear what he has to say."

****

The Tropicana seemed just as busy as ever when Cody and Nick arrived. To their surprise, Murray and Captain Scofield were also making their way towards the building.

"Hey," Cody greeted with a blink. "Did you find out anything?"

"Did we find out anything!" Murray exclaimed. "I'll say we did! And part of it has led us right back here!"

"Which is apparently true for you lads as well," Scofield remarked.

Nick pulled open the door and stepped inside, allowing the others to hurry in after him before the door could close again. "Let's just say we have some more questions for Cody's magician friend."

"He's not my friend," Cody retorted.

"He wanted to talk to you, not anyone else," Nick pointed out. "He wanted to talk to you so bad that he put you in his show and burned you up in a box."

"He's still not my friend," Cody insisted.

Murray gestured for them to stop. "Hey, guys, look!" he exclaimed.

Everyone followed Murray's gaze and outstretched hand to see a beautiful native girl looking around worriedly. Every few moments she glanced at the clock before looking around again. Finally she went to the wall telephone and tried to place a call, but there was no answer. Agonized, she practically slammed down the receiver.

"I remember her," Nick declared. "She's . . . uh, Geraldine."

Murray nodded. "The magician's assistant!"

They hurried over. Before they could even speak, Geraldine pounced. "I was hoping you'd come back!" she cried. "Mr. Berlet has never missed a show before, but he still isn't here! He's acted so strange since last night. When he saw you here earlier tonight, that seemed to buoy him up." She folded her arms. "What did he tell you?"

"Some dangerous stuff," Cody frowned. "Did you hear two men talking in here last night? One had a broken nose and the other, a scar."

She shook her head. "I did not. Is that what Mr. Berlet heard?"

"Yeah," Nick said. "Look, uh, maybe he's just on his way here now."

"It's five minutes to eleven!" Geraldine exclaimed. "He's never this late."

The men exchanged looks. He could be lying somewhere, hurt or dead after being found out. On the other hand, he might have simply fled, especially if he actually was involved with the plot against the expedition.

"Where does he live?" Cody asked at last. "We can go check it out and see if something's delayed him."

"Like being stabbed?" Geraldine said flatly. "He's acted like the devil himself is after him."

"That might not be too far from the truth," Cody admitted.

Geraldine quickly debated with herself. Then, whipping out a small notepad, she scrawled out an address and ripped out the page, handing it to Cody. "Here's where he lives. I'd like to go with you, but someone has to stay here and try to entertain the people who were expecting a show."

"Can you perform by yourself?" Murray blinked.

"I know Mr. Berlet's acts inside and out," Geraldine replied. "I can do the solo tricks and get volunteers from the audience when a second person is required."

Scofield nodded in approval. "Then everything's set here. Let's shove off."

"Oh . . . good luck," Nick said. "Or . . . er . . . do they say 'break a leg' here?"

Geraldine smirked. "We'll see which works better. Thanks." Sobering again, she added, "Whether you find Mr. Berlet or not, I'll want to talk with you after the show. It ends at midnight."

"We'll be back," Cody promised.

"Unless something delays us," Murray added.

"Yeah, unless that," Nick said.

Scofield regarded them in amusement as they hurried for the door. He ambled after them, outwardly calm and unconcerned even though he was worried as well.

****

Mr. Berlet lived in one of the more modernized parts of the city. As the group arrived, the house appeared dark and vacant and rather uninviting.

"Well, this could mean one of several things," Nick said.

"Most of them bad," Cody added. "Unless he really was just delayed and might be arriving at the Tropicana right now."

"Then let's go on in and see," Scofield declared, going past them and up the walk. The Riptide crew hastened after him.

The door was ajar when they reached the porch. "Uh oh," Murray said as Scofield cautiously reached to push it open.

"Wait!" Cody hissed, taking out his gun. "Somebody might be hiding behind there, ready to shoot anyone who comes through. You'd better let us go first."

"You've got a point there," Scofield realized, very agreeably backing away.

Cody and Nick burst through the door, guns held high, but nothing happened. Slowly, uneasily, they lowered them and looked around.

"It looks like a hurricane went through here," Nick declared. "A quick packing job, maybe?"

"Or maybe someone was looking for something other than clothing," Cody remarked.

A careful search through the house revealed it was empty and aside from the mess, there was no sign of foul play. The group went back to the living room, not sure what to do next.

"He could be at the airport right now, catching a flight to the other side of the world," Nick suggested.

"It's worth checking out," Cody said. "But he could have left hours ago."

"Someone at the airport should recognize him and be able to tell us," Nick insisted. ". . . Unless no one besides your friend would talk," he added in grim realization, looking to Scofield.

"Oh, I think I can persuade one of them to tell us something," Scofield answered.

The telephone abruptly entered the conversation. Cody, who was closest, snapped it up. "Hello?"

The heavy breathing on the other end of the line didn't make him feel very secure about the call. "Hello?" Cody demanded again. The others came closer in concern.

At last a voice said low, "Get out of there right now if you want to live."

The line went dead.


	7. Chapter 7

Cody slowly put the telephone receiver back in the cradle, not at all pleased by what he had heard.

"Well? What was that?" Nick demanded.

Not directly answering, Cody turned away and looked towards the front door. "Let's get out of here," he said. "No one should know we're in here, but that guy did. It could just be a generic warning, but on the other hand, maybe something terrible is going to happen to us if we stay in this house."

"Like the whole place blowing up?" Nick exclaimed.

"I'm not waiting around to find out." Cody grabbed Nick and Murray, pushing them ahead of him to the door. They went willingly, with Captain Scofield quickly trailing behind them.

"How would anyone even know to threaten us here?" Nick frowned as they stepped outside onto the porch. "No one knew we were coming except Geraldine."

"And that was definitely a man's voice on the phone," Cody said. He kept ushering his friends forward, down the walkway.

"The threat might not have been meant for us at all," Murray pointed out. "It could have been intended for Mr. Berlet."

"That would be my guess, Chief," Scofield said, cautiously looking over his shoulder when they were a safe distance away from the house. He half-expected it to suddenly burst into flames, but nothing happened.

"Okay, so maybe it was," said Nick. "We're still left with some jerk who might not be playing with a full deck."

"I say we'd better split up," Cody said in concern. "Nick, you and I will go back to the Tropicana and see what Geraldine wanted to see us about. Murray, you and Captain Scofield go out to the airport and see if you can work any of your magic getting the staff to talk about whether Berlet got on a plane out of here tonight."

"And we can meet back on the Arrivederci, unless something else happens that means we'll have to stay away even longer," Nick said.

"You've got yourself a deal," Scofield said. "Come on, Chief. Let's see if we can find out what kind of a hornet's nest Mr. Berlet stirred up."

"Well, okay." Murray looked back at the others with some reluctance. "Be careful, guys."

"We'll be fine, Murray," Cody insisted.

"We hope," Nick muttered under his breath.

****

Nothing really ended up turning out as they had hoped.

At the airport, Murray and Scofield were able to learn that someone matching Berlet's description but not using that name had boarded a plane to Florida, but nothing else. Even with the money Scofield could offer, the man they spoke with was too worried about meeting with Bill's fate to tell them much else.

At the Tropicana, in spite of what Geraldine had told Cody and Nick, she was not there to talk to when they got back. In lieu of using an assistant for the burning box, she had climbed into it herself and had apparently vanished through the trapdoor. An attempt at visiting her house only resulted in learning that she was not there and neither was her luggage.

"You know something?" Cody said in disgust as they boarded the _Arrivederci_ to meet the others. "We were had."

"No kidding," Nick said in equal disgust. "So what's left now? Renting a helicopter tomorrow and flying over the area mapped out for the expedition?"

"That's about it," Cody agreed, "and with our luck, we'll be lucky if we're not shot out of the sky or blown up."

"Now you're starting to sound like Captain Scofield," Nick complained.

"He did have a point," Cody retorted. "We don't know what's going to happen to us up there!"

"You can know that whatever it is, I'm going to keep us safe from it," Nick insisted. "I know what I'm doing in a helicopter!"

"Anyone can make a mistake," Cody shot back. "Look what we both did by climbing into that abandoned boat today! We were blown sky-high!"

"That's all the more reason why nothing's going to happen to us in the helicopter," Nick said. "I'm not gonna make the same mistake twice!"

"Flying over the area in a helicopter isn't the same mistake as climbing into an abandoned boat," Cody protested in frustration.

"Well," said Scofield as he and Murray suddenly approached from the other side, "it looks like you lads are in top form, as usual. And you seem to be about as triumphant as we are. After we exchange stories with the Guilirinis, maybe we should all think about getting some sleep."

"I agree with you, Captain," said Murray. "Maybe after a good night's rest, we'll be fresh and ready to look at this case from a new angle."

"We're going to need a new angle after tonight," Nick grumbled. "Like the helicopter."

Cody sighed. "Let's talk about it in the morning. Okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Nick scowled. "Morning."

"Good," Cody declared. "I'm with Murray; I want to get to bed."

"But first we've gotta tell the Guirilinis about tonight," Nick reminded.

"I know," Cody said, "and I'm dreading it. Angelo's not going to be happy. Giovanna, either."

"Who is?" Nick grunted as he headed below deck.

Scofield looked to Cody. "Are you planning to break it to Miss Guirilini gently, Mr. Allen?"

"There's not many gentle ways to even say it," Cody sighed.

"Very true. And Miss Guirilini can take it." Scofield glanced to Murray as he followed Nick below deck, then looked back to Cody. "She's a very strong-willed woman."

"I know." Cody eyed Scofield warily. "She's bounced back really well from what happened with her fiance."

"It helped that she had a lot to put her mind to," Scofield replied. "Captain Guirilini started working out this new expedition almost immediately, since the prior one failed."

"And she had you too," Cody found himself saying.

"Me? I can assure you, Mr. Allen, that no matter what Mr. Ryder's told you, I didn't have a whole lot of contact with Miss Guirilini until I healed up."

"Well, you must have made a pretty good impression on her anyway, Captain," Cody retorted. "She told me how much she's liked having you around."

"Has she now?" Scofield actually looked surprised. But then, trying to pass it off, he pulled out his rum bottle and took a swig. "Probably just because I gave her somethin' else to put her mind to."

"Maybe," Cody agreed, while inwardly he was exclaiming, _And just what else is she putting her mind to because of you?!_

"Look, Mr. Allen," Scofield said abruptly, "I know you've been admiring Miss Guirilini and are hoping to impress her somehow. But if you really want to do that, you've got to stop trying so hard. What Giovanna likes is when people are genuine with her, especially after this mess with her fiance. Don't try to be somethin' you're not."

Cody drew a deep breath, trying to get his emotions under control. This was really not a good discussion to be having after a long and stressful day. "Nick's told me the same things," he said at last.

Scofield nodded. "It's good advice." Another swig from the rum bottle. "But now what I want to know is if you're planning to take it."

"Why would you even need to ask, unless what Nick says is true?" Cody exclaimed.

"Maybe I just want to know that she's going to be well cared for if you ever do make your move," said Scofield. "You get awfully fond of someone after workin' with them so closely." He capped the bottle and stuck it back in his pocket.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," Cody replied, not wanting to admit that he seriously doubted that Giovanna would ever be interested in him romantically. "Anyway, shouldn't we get below deck?"

"We should," Scofield agreed. "After you, Mr. Allen."

Cody started down the stairs. It was only when he reached the bottom that it suddenly dawned on him and he momentarily froze. _He called her "Giovanna,"_ he realized with a sinking stomach. _No matter how professional he tries to be, he wants to be on a first-name basis with her._

"Mr. Allen?"

Cody started. "Right, right." He picked up his pace, heading for the main salon. Behind him, Scofield calmly followed.

****

The main salon aboard the _Arrivederci, Baby_ was mostly dark when Giovanna wandered in an hour after the very depressing briefing Cody and the others had arranged. She hadn't really expected anyone to be awake other than herself, and yet perhaps she had partially hoped and thought someone might be. When she saw Captain Scofield sitting on one of the white couches, scraping the rust off of an old chain, she went over.

"I thought after a day like today, you might actually go to bed instead of staying up even later," she commented, sitting next to him. "Papa was so depressed over what's happened that he couldn't bear to keep staying up after our conference."

"Can't sleep yet," Scofield grunted, not taking his eyes away from his work.

"Why are you doing this?" Giovanna lifted part of the chain. "It isn't good for much of anything anyway, even without the rust."

Scofield shrugged. "It's somethin' to do. . . . Helps me think."

Giovanna sighed, resting her arm across the back of the couch. "You're worried, aren't you?"

Scofield nodded. "I found out some stuff tonight that puts a whole new perspective on this case."

"You mean what Murray said about someone calling himself The Claw?" Giovanna shook her head. "We've never heard of him."

"And you're just as well off for that," Scofield said gruffly.

"Do you know about him?" Giovanna asked in surprise.

Neither of them noticed Nick coming down the hall past the doorway. Hearing their voices, he stopped walking and paused to listen, pressing himself against the wall nearby.

"I made out like I didn't when I was talking to my friend from the airport, but I was slidin' around the issue, as your friend Mr. Ryder would say." Scofield set the knife and the chain on the table. "I didn't want Bill to know the name meant something to me."

"Why not?" Giovanna frowned. "He was attacked. Surely he can't be part of this."

"I hope not," Scofield said. "But what I was thinking of was more along the lines of if The Claw thought I knew about him, maybe he'd think Bill knows more than he does. He was aggressive enough in trying to kill him just for knowin' a little. I hate to think what he'd do if he finds out Bill's still alive and that there's a chance he knows even more."

Nick nodded to himself. He had thought it strange that Scofield wouldn't have heard the Claw moniker, considering the many years he had lived in the Caribbean. But, he frowned to himself, he wondered when Scofield would have admitted his knowledge.

"What do you know about him?" Giovanna asked quietly.

"I know that he's a smuggler," Scofield said.

"Like Mr. Hawkins," Giovanna frowned.

"Yeah, only worse." Scofield leaned back. "Hawkins was content just to own Martigua. The Claw wants all of the Caribbean. He has lots of ships and boats doing his dirty work; the one Mr. Allen and Mr. Ryder found is only one of them."

"Oh no." Giovanna gripped the couch. Outside the room, Nick cursed to himself.

Scofield nodded. "It looks like we blundered right into one of his smuggling operations, since it's two of his crewmembers who were plottin' against us in the Tropicana and probably arranged Bill's 'accident.' And it'll only get worse from here on out."

Giovanna looked sick. "Poor Papa. . . . He will insist on cancelling this expedition." She looked down. "Ordinarily I would tell him that we should not give in, but if this man is so much more powerful and dangerous than Mr. Hawkins, maybe this time Papa would be right." She shook her head. "How could we hope to go against such a crime boss and win?"

"I don't know." Scofield reached over and laid his hand on hers. "I know I don't want there to be any more 'accidents' on this expedition or any more good people getting hurt. I know there's some battles you just can't win. But I also know that I don't like being intimidated by Hawkins or Claw or anyone else." His voice darkened.

"Captain . . ."

The puzzled and awed note to Giovanna's voice had Nick desperately trying to sneak a peek around the doorway without being seen. With the dim lighting, and the duo's preoccupation with the conversation and each other, it wasn't an impossible task.

He found Giovanna giving Scofield a bemused look while his hand remained on her hand. He took it away, but leaned forward with his hand on the back of the couch while looking at her seriously. "I'll do my best to make sure nothing more happens to hurt anyone. Mr. Allen thought it might be time to call in more qualified authorities to deal with this, and maybe he's right. Tomorrow we can talk to your father and see what we all come up with."

"Alright. But Captain . . ." Now Giovanna rested her hand on his. "When you're making sure no one else gets hurt, I hope you are including yourself."

Scofield looked at her in surprise. But then, smiling in the semi-darkness, he said, "Of course, Miss Guirilini. I'm not lookin' to get another scar to go with the one in my shoulder."

"You had better not," Giovanna said half-sternly as she got up. "Oh, but Captain? If I had not found you tonight, when were you going to tell us that you knew about The Claw?"

"Tomorrow," Scofield assured her. "Seemed like there'd been enough bad news for tonight. And I wanted to have the chance to think about it first."

"I will accept that." Giovanna moved out from around the table. "And I will trust you, Captain, unlike before."

Scofield smiled. "Much obliged, Miss Guirilini."

Nick turned away. "I knew it," he muttered under his breath as he hurried up the hall. "Cody's got some more competition."

He found Murray upstairs on deck, rewinding the tape from that day and then playing it back in assorted ways: faster, slower, louder and louder. Murray was so occupied in trying to decipher the weird sounds or words on the tape that he didn't hear Nick's approach at all.

"Murray!" Nick finally yelled over the tape.

Murray jumped a mile and hit the Stop button. "Oh! Hi, Nick. I thought you'd be in bed by now."

"I thought you'd be in bed too," Nick retorted, his hands on his hips. "Are you having any luck figuring out what the ghosts are saying?"

"Not yet," Murray replied. "It's strange; it seems like what's on this tape has been deliberately garbled up. No matter what I do to it, I can't hear it any more clearly."

Nick sighed. "Well, it's getting late. Maybe you'd better just pop in a fresh tape and come on to bed now. There's gonna be a lot to do in the morning, especially with that helicopter ride."

"That's right," Murray said with some enthusiasm. He rewound the tape again, then paused in concern. "You don't think I've woke anybody up with this, do you?"

"Well, I don't know, Murray," Nick replied. "Angelo went to bed. Tony too, probably. Cody said he was going to get ready for bed. But Giovanna and Scofield are still up."

"Oh really? What are they doing?" Murray asked.

"Let's just say they're getting to know each other better," Nick said in frustration. "Hey, look, Murray, you won't tell Cody, will you? I feel like I should be the one to do it. Kind of let him down easy."

Murray just blinked and looked confused as he straightened up. "Sure, Nick, I won't tell him," he promised. "But they've been working together for weeks now. I don't think it would be a surprise to Cody if they're becoming very close friends at this point."

Nick sighed. "Nevermind, Murray. Just don't tell him, okay?"

"Okay," Murray agreed, baffled.

Nick was just turning away to leave when a strange sound from the tape recorder made him grind to a halt. He whirled back, actually looking shaken. "Murray, what did that just say?"

Murray was already rewinding to play it again. "You said earlier that it sounded like 'Lights out.' Well, it seems to be something quite different, now that I've successfully isolated the segment and cleaned it up to make it more audible."

"Let's just hear it again," Nick said with impatience.

Murray hit Play, looking both apprehensive and intrigued. And when both he and Nick distinctly heard a low voice mockingly saying, _"Ciao,"_ they both stiffened in shock.

"Murray, that voice sounded like Mr. Hawkins," Nick exclaimed. "Only it can't be because he's . . ."

"Dead?" Murray threw back his shoulders, the vindication clearly in his eyes. "This is excellent, Nick! I knew setting up this tape recorder would give me some kind of worthwhile clue!"

"So what do you think it means?" Nick wondered as he rubbed his chin. "It could just be someone impersonating Hawkins for kicks."

"I know that, Nick, but there wasn't anyone around," Murray said impatiently. "We would have noticed someone in this area trying to leave a garbled message on my tape recorder."

"You're probably right, Murray, but what's the alternative? Ghosts?" Nick shook his head. "I just don't believe Hawkins would be jinxing this expedition."

"He could be," Murray retorted. "It wouldn't be the first documented case of a ghost interfering with the lives of the living. Maybe he hates us all because we sent his bomb back to him and killed him and whoever it was he was dealing with."

"If I believed in ghosts, I'd believe he'd be pretty mad, alright," Nick admitted. "I just don't think people hang around after they're dead. If there's anything after this life, I think people just go straight to it instead of hanging around on Earth."

"There are plenty of real-life incidents of ghosts staying on Earth as wandering spirits," Murray protested. "I told you and Cody about them on the flight over."

"I know, and you spooked us that whole night," Nick retorted.

"Well." Murray rewound the tape a third time. "I say the thing to do now is to play this for the others and see what they think."

"So what are you going to do? Wake everybody up and ask them to come listen to what might be Mr. Hawkins' post-mortem recordings?" Nick exclaimed.

Murray paused. "You've got a point. Okay, I'll just make a copy of this and then reset the tape for tonight. I can play the copy for everyone in the morning."

Nick nodded in relief. "Good deal." He started to turn to leave for the second time. To his satisfaction, this time nothing happened to hold him up.

****

The morning brought with it exhausted and sleep-deprived people. Most of those aboard the _Arrivederci_ felt like they were moving through a thick fog of needed rest. Murray was the only one who really felt raring to go, and he had to wait while the others floated back and forth to bed all during the morning hours. By the time everyone could actually agree on the time to be up, it was nearly noon.

"Alright," said Murray as they gathered in the main salon with brunch. "I've called you all here today to listen to a better version of the recording I made yesterday. Nick already heard it because he was just going to bed when I was making it, but it should be completely new to everyone else. I'll have you all know that this recording was completely garbled and indistinguishable before I cleaned it up."

"We know, Murray," Cody said with some impatience. He glanced to Nick, as if hoping for some clue as to what they were going to hear, but Nick merely shrugged in response.

"So, without further ado . . . the tape." Murray pressed the Play button and everyone leaned forward to hear. The eerie, mocking voice soon had all of them disturbed.

"Murray, what is this?" Cody gasped. "It sounds like Mr. Hawkins."

"I know!" Murray crowed.

"You're sayin' you think it really is him," Scofield said from where he and Giovanna were sitting near each other.

"The only other possibility is an imposter, but no one other than any of us were even near my tape recorder at all," Murray said. "And it would be a very unfunny joke."

"I have to agree with you there, Murray," Nick said, scratching his neck.

"So we all must accept that Mr. Hawkins was contacting us from beyond the grave?" Angelo exclaimed.

"This was recorded right before the bomb went off that could have killed Cody and Nick," Murray reminded everyone. "If Mr. Hawkins has been lingering on Martigua as a wandering spirit, it isn't difficult to believe that he would be observing what all of us have been doing. And he would probably take a great deal of pleasure in the idea that some of us were just about to be hurt. He could very easily have decided to leave us a message to let us know he's here."

"Murray, that is really frightening," Giovanna declared with a frown. "Suppose it is true. What can we even do to fight a spirit?"

"We'd probably need to exorcise it," Murray replied. "But first maybe we should try to contact it and see what it wants."

"If it's really Hawkins, we already know what he wants," Cody said. "Our complete destruction." He frowned more. "And like it or not, there's still the problem that we have some very real, very living people after us. We need to find out what they want too."

"Mr. Hawkins might even be able to tell us," Murray persisted.

"But would he?" Cody countered.

"Well . . . we'd have to have something to offer him in return," Murray said. "Like maybe the chance to move on to wherever he's going instead of being forced to stay here any longer."

"I can't believe I'm even having this conversation," Cody sighed, crossing his arms on the table.

"I'll look into the possibility that a living person imitated Mr. Hawkins' voice," Murray said, "but Cody, I'm afraid you're just going to have to accept the possibility that there really is a ghost."

"I guess I will," Cody groaned. "We all will."

The others, in assorted states of being stunned, disturbed, or both, nodded in reluctant agreement.


End file.
